Blaesilla, known as Blesilla, was a Roman widow and disciple of Jerome.
16 Facts About Blaesilla
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Blaesilla was born into a wealthy senatorial family in Rome, the eldest daughter of Paula of Rome and sister of Eustochium, who were members of a group of wealthy Christian women who followed the teachings of Jerome.
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Blaesilla was widowed at the age of 18; at first, she enjoyed her freedom as a widow, but after a life-threatening fever, became "a changed woman" and a severe ascetic, practicing fasting as a spiritual discipline.
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Blaesilla's death caused "bitter controversy" in Rome; many Romans blamed Jerome for her death and demanded that he be removed from Rome.
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Blaesilla was born in Rome in 364, into a wealthy aristocratic family, the eldest daughter of Paula of Rome, the widow of Toxotius, a wealthy Roman senator.
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Blaesilla was described as "a beautiful, talented young girl who loved the merry life of aristocratic Rome"; she enjoyed the theater, dinner parties, and socializing with other young people.
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When Blaesilla was 18, she married Furius, a son of Titiana, who was devoutly Christian like Blaesilla's mother.
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Blaesilla's husband died seven months after they were married, leaving her a wealthy widow.
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Blaesilla mourned his death, but as historian Joyce E Salisbury stated, Blaesilla was too young to "forego the exciting life she loved", living as other young widows did at the time, lavishly spending her time and money on her dress, appearance, and parties, and enjoying her freedom as a widow.
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Shortly after her husband's death, Blaesilla became ill with a fever; she recovered and became "a changed woman".
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Writer Joan Carroll Cruz said that Blaesilla had "yield[ed] to the promptings of grace" and chose to spend "the rest of her short life in great austerity".
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Blaesilla studied scripture, learned to speak Greek with a perfect accent, learned Hebrew in a few months, carried books with her wherever she went, and demanded that Jerome write commentaries for her to study.
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Blaesilla became an ascetic, wearing plain clothes and participating in extreme fasts that dramatically weakened her.
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Historian John Matthews conjectured that Blaesilla's behavior was due to depression and a response to a life-threatening illness.
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Blaesilla was not able to withstand the demands that her asceticism had on her body, and she died within four months, in 384, at the age of 20.
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Historians Finley Hooper and Matthew Schwartz reported that Blaesilla's death caused "bitter controversy" in Rome.