St. Fabiola
Fabiola was a wealthy Roman Patrician of the famous Fabia family. She was for a time a member of St. Jerome's circle but fell away, divorced her husband for his dissolute life, and remarried. On the death of her second husband, she returned to the Church, devoted herself to charitable works and aiding churches, and built the first Christian public hospital in the West, where she personally tended the sick. She visited Jerome at Bethlehem in 395, supported him in his controversy with Patriarch John of Jerusalem, decided not to join Paula's community, and on her return to Rome, continued her charitable work, opening a hospice for poor pilgrims at Porto with St. Pammachius. Jerome wrote two treatises for her and is the source of most of our information about her. Her feast day is December 27th.
Previous Saint
< St. Fabius
Next Saint
St. Fabianus >
Rate This Saint
Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All
Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested
1 - 4 of 4 Comments
Leave a Comment
Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.
Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.
This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.
We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.
We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.
Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample
Previous Saint
< St. Fabius
Next Saint
St. Fabianus >
Find Saints
Catholic Online offers the largest searchable database of Catholic Saints on the internet.
| Browse Saints by Alphabet |
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
| Patron Saints by Alphabet |
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
Videos
St. Francis of Assisi 80,764 views View Video
Padre Pio 49,007 views View Video
Black Saints Vol I 31,793 views View Video
Black Saints Vol II 28,047 views View Video
Most Popular
No-one Can Change the Truth About Fatherhood. Love Your Father. Be a Good Father Read More
Fall of the Wall of Silence: More on Pope Francis and Reports of a 'Gay Lobby' in the Roman Curia Read More
Courageous Cardinal George of Chicago Defends Marriage, Calls for Public Conversion Read More
Pope Francis Refers to 'gay lobby' inside Vatican Read More
Why Catholics Have Failed Our Culture: The Bottom Line Read More
Daily Readings
Reading 1, Second Corinthians 9:6-11
But remember: anyone who sows sparsely will reap sparsely as ... Read More
Psalm, Psalms 112:1-2, 3-4, 9
Alleluia! How blessed is anyone who fears Yahweh, who delights ... Read More
Gospel, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
'Be careful not to parade your uprightness in public to attract ... Read More
Saint of the Day
St. Romuald
June 19: St. Romuald was born at Ravenna about the year 956. In spite ... Read More
Latest Videos
Credo Series - Episode 7 View Video
Credo Series - Episode 8 View Video
About 200 people evacuated from the Lourdes Shrine, as floods hit Southern France View Video
Mary and a Broken World - ADWM #78 View Video
Jun 19 - Homily - Fr. Benedict: St. Juliana's Eucharistic Miracle View Video
Marketplace
The Medjugorje Fasting
The Medjugorje Fasting Book attempts to answer these and other ... Read More




















As a rule Catholic church does not encourage divorce. However just like others, we also have families where husband and wife do not meet eye to eye. This should not prevent those interested in serving the sick and doing charitable work in the name of Christ. As Christ himself has said. In heaven bodies have no place. There is place only for pure in heart.
how does st fabiola teachings relate to our health care system right now
Things were different in the 4th century. Priests were allowed to marry for a while until the 11th century. In present times, a man or woman can request their marriage to be annulled by the Catholic Church. Perhaps people confuse modern doctrine of what is acceptable with the early Catholic church.
I love St. Fabiola!!!!
How does the church explain the fact that this saint was a divorcee, but that the church does not approve of divorce?