St Jerome (above), one of the great fathers of the Church, who translated the Bible into Latin, died in Bethlehem today in the year 420.
George Whitefield, preacher of the Great Awakening in the 18th century, died today in 1770. A preaching partner of John Wesley in their early days, he later fell out with him over Calvinism.
‘I preached in the evening, at Deptford, a kind of funeral sermon for Mr Whitefield. In every place I wish to show all possible respect to the memory of that great and good man.’ John Wesley, Journal, January 1771
Richard Rolle, the 14th century English hermit and mystic, died today in 1349.
Today in 1943, after 400 years of anti-Protestant suspicion of the Bible, Pope Pius XII issued the encyclical Divino afflante Spiritu (‘Inspired by the Holy Spirit’), encouraging Catholics to study scripture and allowing them to use the techniques of modern scholarship.
St Thérèse of Lisieux died of tuberculosis on this day 1897 at the age of 24, offering her sufferings for the salvation of souls.
Image: The Met