Blaesilla

Blaesilla, also known as Blesilla (364–384), was a Roman widow and disciple of Jerome. She 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. 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. Her fasts dramatically weakened her, and she died within four months, at the age of 20.

Blaesilla's death caused "bitter controversy" in Rome; many Romans blamed Jerome for her death and demanded that he be removed from Rome. Eventually, Jerome left Rome, with Blaesilla's mother and sister, to live as an ascetic in the Holy Land. Most of the knowledge about Blaesilla's life comes from the writings of Jerome, in which he described her piety and virtue. She also inspired Jerome to translate the book of Ecclesiastes. Modern writers and researchers have connected Blaesilla with the eating disorder anorexia nervosa; she has been called "this ancient woman who starved herself in death in the name of Christ" and "the first victim of anorexia nervosa, described in the literature", and has been compared to modern patients with the disorder.

Life Saint Jerome, Saint Paula, and Saint Eustochium. Francisco de Zurbarán, National Gallery of Art in Washington

If it were not for the writings of Jerome, in which he described her piety and virtue, we would know very little about Blaesilla.

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. Toxotius' brother was a former vicarius of Rome and proconsul of Africa. Blaesilla had three sisters, one of which was Eustochium. Both Paula and Eustochium were part of "the vigorous Christian community" in Rome during the 4th century that was made up of wealthy women like Paula and Asella, and advised by Jerome.

Blaesilla became an ascetic, wearing plain clothes and participating in extreme fasts that dramatically weakened her. Jerome, in his attempt to console her, proclaimed Blaesilla "the victor in the struggle against Satan". Romans saw that she had been killed by fasting, and demanded that monks be expelled from Rome.

Modern criticism of Jerome Hooper and Schwartz were critical of Jerome, stating that his beliefs about asceticism and monasticism demonstrated an attitude that would prevail in Christianity for centuries. Researchers Martine Docx and Paul Govaert called Blaesilla "probably the first recorded case of death due to anorexia" and "the first victim of anorexia nervosa, described in the literature". They also stated that the refusal of food offered ascetics like Blaesilla "a spiritual transcendence", while the goal for modern patients was the pursuit of the "perfect body". They suggested that Blaesilla's motivation might also have included a desire to earn the love and approval of Jerome, her mother, and her sister, much like the way in which modern patients become anorexic to earn the love and approval of their families and society.

Legacy and veneration Cruz reported that Jerome translated the book of Ecclesiastes at Blaesilla's request.

Blaesilla's feast day is 22 January.