Going down the stairs of the Basilica of Saint Catharina, we find a set of caves, all very close to each other. One, the main and the most important, is the cave of the Nativity, the birthplace of Jesus. Near this place, there are the caves of St. Joseph, that of the Holy Innocents and the cave of St. Jerome. It is here that he dedicated himself for more than 40 years to the translation, from Hebrew and Greek to Latin, of the original biblical texts. Describing St. Jerome is not an easy task. From Dalmatia, of encyclopedic culture, he retired to the desert near Antioch, the cradle of Christianity, living in penance. Then, having become a priest, he began an intense literary activity: in Rome he was a collaborator of Pope Damasus. Upon his death, Jerome retired to Bethlehem. In 386 St. Jerome settled near the Basilica of the Nativity to devote himself to the study of the Bible. To him we owe the famous Latin version (Vulgate), which later became official in the Western Church and of great importance for the transmission of the scriptures. Accompanying us on this visit is Brother Eugenio Alliata, professor and archaeologist of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem. Before getting to know the place of St. Jerome, we understand better together the system of caves close to that of the birth of Jesus. Br EUGENIO ALLIATA, ofm Studium Biblicum Franciscanum "In the area where there is the Cave of the Nativity, where according to tradition Jesus was born, there are many other caves, on the right and on the left, more or less deep, and almost always arranged in some way by man as places of veneration. Because of their religious interest, the proximity to the cave of Jesus created this interest in the nearby caves. As for the cave of St. Jerome, it is the cave on one side of the Cave of the Nativity, precisely on the north side." Br EUGENIO ALLIATA, ofm Studium Biblicum Franciscanum "From the archaeological point of view the oldest signs that exist and that have been found are some graffiti that were placed by Christians. From the point of view of history, based on literary sources, the first traces that we have are from the famous writer Origen, who tells us that even the pagans could indicate in Bethlehem that cave where the one that the Christians worshipped as their Savior was born." Only one door, which today remains closed, connects this cave to that of the Nativity. Br EUGENIO ALLIATA, ofm Studium Biblicum Franciscanum "Saint Jerome lived almost 40 years in Bethlehem: he arrived around 386 from Rome together with Paula, Eustochios and others of his companions. Jerome's brother also accompanied him. They settled in Bethlehem and never moved from there. Before settling in Bethlehem, St. Jerome tells us that he and Paula and the others visited all the other holy places in Palestine, but they never returned a second time." Br EUGENIO ALLIATA, ofm Studium Biblicum Franciscanum "It may be little more than 40 years - but it was a period that gave extremely important results for the history of the Church, especially for the history of the Western Church in which the language was Latin. From that moment on, everyone was able to use a translation of the Bible made directly from the original texts, according to the vision of St. Jerome that Jewish truth should be followed, not the changes made in later translations of the Bible. This idea is very modern, and everyone today says on the first page of every Bible: "translated from the original texts". It must be said that St. Jerome had already had this precious intuition at that time." An excitement for everyone. Also for Brother Alliata. Next to the cave where St. Jerome worked on translation and lived as a hermit monk, there is another cave known as his tomb. However, his body is no longer here; his remains were moved to Rome by the Crusaders. The tomb remains as a memorial to the Christians given its great importance. In addition to the tomb of St. Jerome, there are also those of some companions: Paula, and Eustochius. The Gutenberg Bible, in 1456, was the first printed book in history. The Vulgate of St. Jerome was chosen for this first edition. It is known as the 42-line Bible and is divided only into chapters. The versicles were introduced in 1527. Over the centuries it has reached the present day and remains the most widely read, translated and printed book in all languages. There is no longer an original text, as it came out of the hands of the Evangelists or St. Paul, but today it is possible to find copies very close to the originals, for example the reproductions that can be seen in the Vatican library or in Jerusalem, at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum. Br GIORGIO VIGNA, ofm Biblist – Jerusalem "After more than 3000 years of the history of Judaism, 2000 years of the history of Christianity, we can say that the Bible has now reached every corner of the earth. This means that all peoples and cultures have somehow known the Bible." Br GIORGIO VIGNA, ofm Biblist – Jerusalem "In these centuries of history, the word of God has deeply marked the life of faith, the religious way of the Jewish and Christian people. It has been the great light, the point of reference, the fundamental stone on which the Jewish and Christian people have built their faith, their religious experience. Not only that. We must say that after so many centuries of history the Bible has had a very profound influence on many levels: the first level is what we can consider social relations. But then we have to think about literature, painting, architecture, poetry, and in short it has influenced many fields. The question we can ask ourselves is: why has the Bible had such a great influence? Because when you read the Bible, you feel that the Bible speaks about you. It speaks of God, of life, of light, of hope, and this is an honour for me. In conclusion, we can say that the Bible is truly a beauty, and because it is a beauty, it strikes and captures each one of us." Read More