Saint Marcella of Rome

Saint Marcella was a Roman aristocrat of the fourth century, a widow who turned her house on the Aventine into a place of prayer, study of Sacred Scripture, and help for the poor. Almost everything we know about her comes from the letters of Saint Jerome, her teacher and friend. The Church commemorates her on January 31.

She came from one of the most distinguished families of Rome. The year of her birth is unknown. She lost her father early, and her husband died after less than seven months of marriage. The young widow was courted by Cerealis, an elderly and wealthy man of consular rank. Marcella answered that if she wished to marry, she would look for a husband and not for an inheritance.

According to Jerome, no highborn Roman lady had dared before her to take up the monastic life. Marcella came to know it through clergy from Alexandria, among them Bishop Athanasius, who had taken refuge in Rome from the Arians. She resolved to live in a similar way in her own home: she wore plain clothes, fasted with moderation, and prayed in the basilicas of the apostles and martyrs. Her example drew other women, among them Saint Paula and her daughter Eustochium.

In 382 Jerome came to Rome. Marcella sought a meeting so persistently that she overcame his reluctance, and from then on she asked him about Sacred Scripture at every conversation. She was not content with the first answer but raised objections in order to learn how they could be resolved. Pope Francis recalled that Jerome, supported by Marcella, Paula, and Eustochium, created at that time on the Aventine a cenacle devoted to the reading and rigorous study of Scripture. More than a dozen of Jerome’s letters to Marcella survive.

In 385 Jerome left Rome, and a year later he settled in Bethlehem. Marcella stayed in Rome. From then on people turned to her in disputes about the meaning of Scripture, and priests too asked her questions. She lived with a younger companion, the virgin Principia. When erroneous teachings that appealed to the writings of Origen began to spread in the city, she opposed them publicly.

In August 410 Rome was taken and sacked by the Visigoths of Alaric. Soldiers broke into Marcella’s house and demanded gold. They did not believe in her poverty and beat her severely. Jerome relates that she begged them with tears only to spare the young Principia. The attackers led both women to the Basilica of Saint Paul, where they found refuge. There Marcella thanked God that the invasion had found her poor and had not made her so. She died soon afterward in Principia’s arms. The year of her death is given as 410.

Two years later Jerome honored her at Principia’s request with a memorial letter and called her the glory of Rome. Marcella was never formally canonized, for she lived long before canonization processes existed. The Church venerates her as a saint, and the Roman Martyrology says of her that, having despised wealth and noble birth, she became nobler still through poverty and humility.