Saint Fabiola
Saint Fabiola of Rome (born c. 330 AD in Rome, Italy; died December 27, 399 AD in Rome, Italy) was a wealthy Roman noblewoman who, after a turbulent personal history, devoted herself entirely to serving the sick and poor. She founded one of the first public hospitals in the Western world in Rome — a nosocomium — and was a close friend and disciple of Saint Jerome. After her death Jerome wrote a moving letter describing her life. Her feast day is December 27.
Stored in Cargo: Saint Fabiola
| Saint Fabiola | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | December 27 |
| Profession | Noblewoman; hospital founder; servant of the poor; disciple of Saint Jerome |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; lay associate of the Bethlehem monastic circle |
| Patronage | Nurses; hospital workers; hospital administrators; divorced persons; difficult marriages; Rome |
| Attributes | Bag of money (charity); sick person in her arms; book (Scripture); pilgrim's staff (journey to Bethlehem) |
| Birthplace | Rome, Italy |
| Death Place | Rome, Italy |
| Cause of Death | Natural causes |
| Primary Shrine | No surviving shrine in Rome; venerated broadly as patron of hospital workers |
| Liturgical Class | Not in universal Roman Calendar; feast December 27 in some local observances; patron of hospital workers |
| Historic Class | Not included |
Biography
Fabiola came from a noble Roman family and received the classical education of the Roman aristocracy. Her first marriage was to a man whose vicious behavior gave her canonical grounds for separation. She divorced him and remarried during his lifetime — canonically irregular by the standards of the Western church, which forbade second marriages while the first spouse lived. When her second husband died, Fabiola repented of the irregular marriage.
Her public penance at the Lateran Basilica was one of the most dramatic acts of Christian conversion in 4th-century Rome: dressed in sackcloth, she prostrated herself before Bishop Siricius and the entire assembled clergy and laity of Rome, weeping and confessing her fault. Jerome, writing her obituary letter (Epistula 77), says all Rome wept with her.
After her reconciliation she devoted her entire fortune — which was immense — to charitable works. She founded a nosocomium (hospital) in Rome — one of the earliest recorded public hospitals in the Western world — where she personally cared for the sick. She picked up injured and sick people from the streets, brought them to her hospital, and washed their wounds, including the most repellent cases of disease and decay. Jerome describes her ministry with concrete detail.
She traveled to Bethlehem to study Scripture with Jerome and Saint Paula of Rome at their monastery. She returned to Rome and founded a hospice at Portus (the port of Rome) with Saint Pammachius for the care of pilgrims and the poor. She died on December 27, 399.
Jerome wrote her epitaph in one of his most famous letters (Epistle 77), calling her a great light of the Church. The entire population of Rome attended her funeral.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Rome, Italy
Death location: Rome, Italy
Notable location: Her home city; she founded the first public hospital (nosocomium) in the Western world here; she used her vast fortune to care personally for the sick and poor in the streets of Rome (Rome, Italy)
Notable location: She traveled to Bethlehem to study Scripture under Saint Jerome and Saint Paula of Rome; she stayed for some time at the monastery they had established there before returning to Rome (Bethlehem, Palestine)
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Parishes
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Media
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Shrines
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Feast day
December 27
Veneration
Saint Fabiola is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church with a feast day on December 27. She is considered a patron of hospital workers and nurses.
Prayers
Authored
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Intercessory
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