Saint Lea
Encyclopedia
Saint Lea is a third century saint
in the Roman Catholic Church
on the authority of Jerome
about whom little is definitively known. The church father Saint Jerome
, in a letter to Saint Marcella
, said that she was a widow who retired to a Roman
convent of consecrated virgin
s, where she became the prioress. Jerome provides no biography for Lea, for he assumes that Marcella knows it, and concentrates instead upon her death.
In a parallel with Lazarus and Dives
, Jerome writes:
He then compares her with a consul
who had lived in wealth and would find himself in agony in the afterlife and exhorts Marcella to serve Jesus
rather than the world.
Jerome's use of the adjective "blessed" is taken as sufficient evidence for Lea's veneration by the Roman Catholic Church, where her feast day is March 22.
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
in the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
on the authority of Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
about whom little is definitively known. The church father Saint Jerome
Saint Jerome
Saint Jerome is a Christian church father, best known for translating the Bible into Latin.Saint Jerome may also refer to:*Jerome of Pavia , Bishop of Pavia...
, in a letter to Saint Marcella
Saint Marcella
Marcella is a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. She was a Christian ascetic in ancient Rome. Growing up in Rome, she was influenced by her pious mother, Albina, an educated woman of wealth and benevolence. Childhood memories centered around piety, and one in particular related to Athanasius,...
, said that she was a widow who retired to a Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
convent of consecrated virgin
Consecrated virgin
In the Catholic Church a consecrated virgin is a woman who has been conscrated by the church to a life of perpetual virginity in the service of God. Consecrated virgins are to spend their time in works of penance and mercy, in apostolic activity and in prayer, according to their state of life and...
s, where she became the prioress. Jerome provides no biography for Lea, for he assumes that Marcella knows it, and concentrates instead upon her death.
In a parallel with Lazarus and Dives
Lazarus and Dives
The Parable of the rich man and Lazarus is a well known parable of Jesus which appears in one of the Four Gospels of the New Testament....
, Jerome writes:
He then compares her with a consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
who had lived in wealth and would find himself in agony in the afterlife and exhorts Marcella to serve Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
rather than the world.
Jerome's use of the adjective "blessed" is taken as sufficient evidence for Lea's veneration by the Roman Catholic Church, where her feast day is March 22.