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Why did Pope Damasus I bring St. Jerome to Rome?

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José de Ribera: Saint Jerome — St. Jerome *Saint Jerome*, oil on canvas by José de Ribera (Jusepe de Ribera, Lo Spagnoletto), c. 1638–40; in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Pope Damasus I brought St. Jerome to Rome in 382 to serve as his secretary, close adviser, and friend.12

Damasus, who was actively working to assert the primacy of the Roman see and suppress heresy, recognized Jerome as a leading biblical scholar of his day. Consequently, the Pope commissioned Jerome to revise the existing Latin translations of the Bible. This monumental task resulted in the Vulgate, which eventually became the standard Latin Bible throughout Western Christendom.1324

During his time in Rome, Jerome also pursued other scholarly work, propagated the ascetic life, and taught a circle of noble Roman women, serving as their master in spirituality.2