Today, 30th September is International Translation Day which is celebrated each year on this date. 30th September is the feast day of St. Jerome (pictured right), who is credited with translating the Bible into Latin (the so-called Vulgate Bible. Ed.) in the late 4th century. In 382 Jerome was commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Vetus Latina (“Old Latin”) collection of Biblical texts in Latin then in use by the Church. St Jerome is also the patron saint of translators.
International Translation Day has been promoted by the FIT (the International Federation of Translators) since its inception in 1953. In 1991 the FIT launched the idea of an officially recognised International Translation Day to show solidarity of the worldwide translation community (would that include our interpreter colleagues? Ed.).
St Jerome’s early work definitely had a lasting effect, since the world’s most translated literary work is still the Christian Bible, followed by Carlo Collodi‘s Le avventure di Pinocchio.