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Marcella
Jeremiah Harlan,Kelsey Minix, Lauren
Anderson

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Marcella of Rome
Living from
325- 410 AD

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 Primary text: Letters from Saint Jerome.
 The majority of these letters were addressed to Marcella.
 The letter that we are interested in the most is the letter to
Principa, which is written about Marcella 2 years after her
death.
 Author : St. Jerome
 11 of his letters addressed to her still survive today

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Background
 The death of her father left her an orphan.
 She was married only seven months when her husband died
 Widowed with wealth, young age, and great beauty; many
men wanted to marry her
 Cerealis, a man with high consular (political) rank, wanted to
marry Marcella.When she turned down such a sought after
man, other men realized that they would not be able to win
her hand either
 Instead she chose a life of chastity and prayer.

+ She believed that god was calling upon her to live a life
dedicated to serving the poor and learning Christianity.
 She gave her riches to the poor with the mindset that she should
“store her money in the stomachs of the poor rather than to keep
it at her own disposal.”
 Her social group judged her for donating her riches and being
viewed as a low class women
 In her home she began a community of like-spirited women of
widows and unmarried maidens that devoted their time to
intense prayer and serving the needy.
 This was thought to be one of the earliest communities of
Christian women
 Marcella leads them in intense prayer, study of scripture, and
frequent visits to the churches of the apostles and martyrs.
 She was seen as a role model to women and many virgins
followed her example

+ St. Jerome
•Jerome arrived in Rome and was
introduced to her community of
women and was so intrigued by
their dedication to Christ he
decided to become their spiritual
leader.
•He compared her community of
women to Jesus’ female followers
and Marcella particularly to Mary
of Magdalene.
•He says that they are to be judged
by their spirit instead of their sex
•Jerome made frequent visits to
their community making life long
friends with many of the women.
The letters he writes to Marcella
over the course of their relationship
is where we get information on her.

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 Marcella’s home was invaded by Goths that thought it was full
of richest and jewels.When Marcella claimed that she had no
richest and gave all her belongings to the poor, they beat her
and within a few months she died.
 Although her sisters were upset, Jerome writes in his letters
to them “when she closed her eyes, it was in your arms; when
she breathed her last breath, your lips receive it; you shed
tears but she smiled conscious of having led a good life and
hoping for her reward hereafter”

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In comparison to other women
 She was judged for giving away her richest to be viewed as a
low class woman
 She turned down a man with a great fortune and political
rank
 She did not have any children, which was a woman’s primary
role in this time
 She was a teacher of Christianity
 She was thought to be one of the first women to live a
monastic life.
 She was a female leader

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So how do you think she was viewed?
 As An outcast?
 A role model?
 A disgrace?

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Major Contributions
• She was a role model to many Roman women
• She started what was thought to be one of the
first communities of Christian women
• So influential to Christian teachings that she was
compared to Mary Magdalene
• She was a symbol of faith to Christ

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Today:
•She is also known as
Patron Saint of
Noblewomen
•Known for giving all
her riches to the poor
•Known for inspiring
women to devote their
lives to a higher calling
•Known for her strength
and spirit of kindness.

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Discussion questions
1. How do you think the story of Marcella would be different if
it were in the bible instead of from Jerome’s letters?
2. How do you think she compares to the women we have
discussed so far?
3. It is written in text that Jerome “favors women”, how can
you tell from what we have discussed?

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Bibliography
 Burns, Paul, and Alban Butler. Butler's Lives of the Saints.
Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2005. Print.
 Kraemer, Ross Shepard. Women's Religions in the Greco-
RomanWorld:A Sourcebook.NewYork: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.
 Madigan, Kevin, and Carolyn Osiek. OrdainedWomen in the
Early Church:A Documentary History. Baltimore, MD: Johns
Hopkins UP, 2005. 100.71. Print.

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Saint Marcella of Rome

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Editor's Notes