St. Jerome's Cave

statue of St Jerome in the courtyard of St. Catherine Church

 St Jerome (also known as Hieronymus, the Latin version of Jerome) spent more than 36 years in the Holy Land. He was well-known for his ascetic lifestyle and his passionate involvement in doctrinal controversies such as one with Rufinus and another with the Pelagians.

At his feet is a skull, a symbol of the transience of human existence.

In the caves below the Church of the nativity, St. Jerome spent almost 30 years translating the Scriptures into Greek and Greek into Latin. His translation is known as the Vulgate. He started in 386 AD

Jerome died in 420 and was buried in one of the caves. His body was subsequently moved to Constantinople and then to Rome, where his bones rest today in the Basilica of 
Santa Maria Maggiore.
 

chapel in St. Jerome's Cave

The Chapel of the Holy Innocents. This is said to be the burial place of infants killed by King Herod in his attempt to eliminate the newborn “King of the Jews”.

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