The Pontifical Croatian College of St. Jerome (; ; ) is a Catholic college, church and a society in the city of Rome intended for the schooling of South Slav clerics. It is named after Saint Jerome. Since the founding of the modern college in 1901, it has schooled 311 clerics from all bishoprics of Croatia. History In his apostolic letter, Piis fidelium votis, dated 21 March 1453, Pope Nicholas V granted the decrepit church of St. Marina the Martyr and its precincts to a brotherhood of "Ilyrian" (South Slav) priests on the Borgo San Pietro in Rome. At this location, next to the Mausoleum of Augustus on the left bank of the Tiber, they built a guest house and a hospital, and re-dedicated the institutions to Saint Jerome, a native of Dalmatia. The place became a refuge for Croatian refugees fleeing from the Ottomans in the 15th century. The brotherhood was renamed Congregatio or "Society of St. Jerome" in 1544, and Pope Paul III sanctioned its bylaws. In 1582, the Society financed the publication of Aleksandar Komulović's work Nauch Charstianschiza Slovignschi narod, v vlaasti iazich ("Christian Doctrine for the Slavic People in Their Own Language"). In 1598, Pope Clement VIII gave permission for the hospice by the church to be transformed into a clerical college, but this did not actually happen until two centuries later, when, on 27 February 1790 Pope Pius VI opened a seminary for men who previously used the services of the St. Jerome Capitol. But even then, the seminary functioned only for brief periods without interruption: 1793-98, 1863–71, and finally 1884-1901, after which point the Chapter (of Canons) was abolished. According to historian Natko Nodilo, the Illyrian Academy in Rome was established to better prepare missionaries for the conversion of Eastern Orthodox Serbs. Various precious works by Meštrović are kept in the College such as the Pietà, the bas-relief of St. Jerome, the bas-relief of SistoV, the bust of Pius XII, the sketch for the bas-relief of the "Madonna mediatrix of all graces" as well as numerous letters. Church of San Girolamo Pope Pius V raised the Church of San Girolamo to the status of a Cardinal titular church, whose designee served as Cardinal-protector of the Society of St. Jerome. On 20 November 1570, Felice Cardinal Peretti of Montalto became Cardinal-protector, and retained this position until 24 March 1585 when he became Pope Sixtus V.