St. Jerome Emiliani: A Different Kind of Saint

Born in Venice in 1486, the youngest of four brothers, Jerome Emiliani went through an adventurous youth. In 1531 he decided to abandon any military, political, and economical career. Though a layman, he dedicated himself to a unique mission: to share his life with the poor and to build a community with homeless children. His Christian experience took shape inside the Catholic Reformation through the movement of the Divine Love, under the guidance of such illustrious people as Cajetan Thiene (Founder of the Theatines), and John Peter Carafa (Pope Paul IV).
As a member of the Confraternity of the Divine Love, Jerome became a valuable organizer of the works of Charity in Venice (the Hospital of the Incurables and the Shop of St. Rocco). The fame gained in this field took him through the cities of Northern Italy such as Verona, Vicenza, Brescia, Bergamo, Milan, Como, and Pavia. The Bishops of these towns invited Jerome to organize works of mercy in their dioceses.
Around Jerome a group of cooperators started to take shape and some of them decide to take up his lifestyle. Consequently the "Company of the Servants of the Poor" was born. Today, it is called the Congregation of the Somascan Fathers and Brothers. Jerome died in Somasca, February 8, 1537, after having contracted the plague from the sick he was assisting during the epidemic. It was his last supreme gesture of love, according to the command of the Lord to lay down one's life for the others.



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