In 1531, after the spread of the cholera plague, he convinced the inhabitants of Verona of the importance of building a hospital. Jerome, for this, was inspired by the Theatines, whom he had met years before in the hospital for terminal illnesses that they ran; then, in Brescia, he erected an orphanage; and he would do the same in Bergamo, one for older boys and one for girls. There he also founded a shelter for prostitutes who wanted to leave behind the life of pain, dishonor and semi-slavery they led.
The Company of Servants of the Poor
Together with two priests, Alejandro Besuzio and Agustín Bariso, collaborators in his charitable works, he founded a religious society in 1532, establishing its headquarters in Somasca, located between Milan and Bergamo. Members of his society became known as the Regular Clerics of Somasca (originally the Company of Servants of the Poor).