Jerome lived a wreckless life as a soldier and ended up in prison. Chained in a dungeon he gradually learned how to pray. He escaped from prison and returned to Venice where he began his own studies for the priesthood. In the years after his ordination plague and famine swept northern Italy. It was a difficult time as he cared for the sick and fed the hungry at his own expense. He founded three orphanages, a shelter for prostitutes and a hospital.

He established a congegation dedicated to the care of orphans adn the education of youth. He died in 1537 from a disease he caught while tending the sick. In 1928 Pius XI named him the patron of orphans and abandoned children.

Today is his feast day and we ask his many blessings on us. Amen