Jerome (ca. 347 – September 30, 420; Ευσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ιερώνυμος, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus) is best known as the translator of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. He also was a Christian apologist. Jerome's edition of the Bible, the Vulgate, is still an important text of the Roman Catholic Church. He is recognised by the Roman Catholic Church as a canonised Saint and Doctor of the Church. He is also recognized as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church, where he is known as St. Jerome of Stridonium or Blessed Jerome. ("Blessed" in this context does not have the sense of being less than a saint, as in the West.)

In the artistic tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, it has been usual to represent him, the patron of theological learning, anachronistically, as a cardinal, by the side of the Bishop Augustine, the Archbishop Ambrose, and the Pope Gregory I. Even when he is depicted as a half-clad anchorite, with cross, skull and Bible for the only furniture of his cell, the red hat or some other indication of his rank is as a rule introduced somewhere in the picture. He is also often depicted with a lion, due to a medieval story in which he removed a thorn from a lion's paw, and, less often, an owl, the symbol of wisdom and scholarship. blank">The Collection: St. Jerome, gallery of the religious art collection of _New Mexico State University, with explanations. Accessed August 10, 2007. Writing materials and the trumpet of final judgment are also part of his iconography.