St. Paula

Feastday: January 26

Patron of widows
347 – 404

Saint Paula was born in Rome of a noble family on May 5, 347. She married Toxotius, and the couple had five children – Toxotius, Blesilla, Paulina, Eustochium, and Rufina. They were regarded as an ideal married couple. After the death of her husband in 379, she renounced the world, lived in the greatest austerity, and devoted herself to helping the poor.

She met St. Jerome in 382 through St. Epiphanius and Paulinus of Antioch and was closely associated with Jerome in his work while he was in Rome. The death of her daughter Blesilla in 384 left her heartbroken, and in 385 she left Rome with Eustochium, traveled to the Holy Land with Jerome, and a year later settled in Bethlehem under his spiritual direction.

She and Eustochium built a hospice, a monastery, and a convent, which Paula governed. She became Jerome’s closest confidante and assistant, taking care of him and helping him in his biblical work, build numerous churches, which were to cause her financial difficulties in her old age, and died at Bethlehem on January 26.

She is the patroness of widows. Her feast day is January 26.

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St. Timothy

Feastday: January 26

Saint Timothy was born in Lystra, Lycaenia. His father was a Greek father and mother was Jewish. He joined St. Paul the apostle when Paul preached at Lystra replacing Barnabas, and became Paul’s close friend and confidant.

Paul then circumcised Saint Timothy since he was the son of a Jewess, and he then accompanied Paul on his second missionary journey. When Paul was forced to flee Berea because of the enmity of the Jews there, Timothy remained.

After sometime Saint Timothy was sent to Thessalonica to report on the condition of the Christians there and to encourage them under persecution. This report was later used by Saint Paul to write the his first letter to the Thessalonians when he joined Timothy at Corinth.

Timothy and Erastus were sent to Macedonia. He then went to Corinth to remind the Corinthians of Paul’s teaching, and then accompanied Paul into Macedonia and Achaia. Timothy was with St. Paul when the Apostle was imprisoned at Caesarea and then Rome, and was himself imprisoned but then freed.

According to tradition, he went to Ephesus, became its first bishop, and was stoned to death there when he opposed the pagan festival of Katagogian in honor of Diana. Paul wrote two letters to Timothy, one written about 65 from Macedonia and the second from Rome while he was in prison awaiting execution.

His feast day is January 26.

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