Pammachius

Pammachius ST., a friend and contemporary of St. Jerome (q.v.), was a senator at Rome, and stood high in the esteem of his countrymen. Being persuaded of the value of a religious life, the death of his wife constrained him to turn aside from society, and he embraced an ascetic life. He died in a convent in 410. Jerome, who was his intimate associate and friend from youth up, carried on a correspondence with Pammachius, which is of historical value to the ecclesiastical student. Jerome in his letters, as also Augustine and Paulinus of Nola in theirs, extols the virtuous life of Pammachius, especially the philanthropic labors in which he abounded. See Zöckler, Leben des Hieronymus (Gotha, 1865).