Bartholomew of Braga

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Catechists[1]

Bartholomew of Braga (3 May 1514 - 16 July 1590), born Bartolomeu Fernandes and in religious Bartolomeu dos Mártires, was a Portuguese Catholic and a professed member from the

Archbishop Emeritus of Braga.[2] Fernandes participated in the Council of Trent and also collaborated with Charles Borromeo at the council while also establishing a series of hospitals and hospices in Braga while publishing a range of works from catechism to other topics.[3]

The sainthood process commenced under

Saint Peter's Square on 4 November 2001.[4] Pope Francis
approved the equipollent canonization for him on 5 July 2019 after waiving the miracle needed for him to become a saint therefore acknowledging him as such.

Life

Bartolomeu Fernandes was born near

baptized mere hours after in the local parish church of Nossa Senhora dos Mártires.[3][4]

He entered the

Order of Preachers on 11 November 1527 and later made his solemn profession into the order on 20 November 1529. On the completion of his own studies in 1538 he taught philosophical studies in the convent of the order at Lisbon and then for about two decades taught theological studies in the various houses of his order. In 1551 he received his master's degree at the provincial chapter of Salamanca in Spain. He taught in Batalha and then in Évora.[3][4]
He also served as the prior of the Benfica convent from 1557 to 1558 and was in Évora as a teacher from 1538 until 1557.

During the course of teaching theological studies at the

Bishop of Coimbra João Soares.[3] In fact it was Luis of Grenada who was to become the archbishop though Luis urged the queen to select Fernandes instead. Pope Paul IV confirmed this appointment in the papal bull "Gratiae divinae praemium" on 27 January 1559. He devoted himself to the duties of his new office with his installation in his archdiocese on 4 October 1559.[2]

Styles of
Bartholomew of the Martyrs
Reference style
His Most Reverend Lordship
Spoken styleYour Most Reverend Lordship
Posthumous styleSaint

On the resumption of the

Archbishop of Toledo Bartolomé Carranza.[4] He was esteemed and held in high regard among the Council Fathers both on the account of his theological learning and the holiness of his life. The archbishop exercised great influence in the discussions and more so with regard to the decrees on the reform of ecclesiastical life and development.[2]

The conclusion of that council saw him return to Braga in February 1564 and in 1566 he held an important provincial gathering of the diocese in which decrees were passed for the restoration of ecclesiastical discipline and the elevation of the moral life of priests and people ("Concilium provinciale Bracarense quartum" in 1567). The archbishop now devoted himself to the task of enacting the reforms of the Council of Trent in addition to the decrees of his own provincial synod. A great famine and a visitation of the plague revealed the depths of his charitable and merciful nature in addition to his willingness to aid his flock in their time of need; he also constructed a series of hospitals and hospices.[3]

He made repeated requests to resign from his episcopal see and received papal permission from Pope Gregory XIII on 20 February 1582 to resign and withdraw to his order's convent at Viana do Castelo where he lived in solitude for the remainder of his life but also serving as a teacher for some time.[3]

Fernandes died at Viana do Castelo on 16 July 1590.

A statue of him mounted on a donkey can be found in Viana do Castelo, Portugal. Part of the name on the pedestal reads, "Bartolomeu dos Martires".

Works

In the interests of Christian life and the promotion of ecclesiastical discipline he wrote the following publications:

  • "Compendium spiritualis doctrinae ex variis sanc. Patrum sententiis magna ex parte collectum" (Lisbon, 1582)
  • "Stimulus pastorum ex gravissimis sanct. Patrum sententiis concinnatus, in quo agitur de vita et moribus episcoporum aliorumque praelatorum" (Rome, 1564; published at the insistence of Charles Borromeo)
  • "Catechismo ou Doutrina christiana" (Lisbon, 1562).

All of these writings have been republished on numerous occasions and have also been translated into several languages. A collective edition is: "Opera omnia cura et studio Malachiae d'Inguinbert, archiepisc. Theodos." (1 vol. Fol. In 2 parts, Rome, 1734–35).

Sainthood

Tomb in Viana do Castelo.

The beatification process opened in an informative process that Archbishop Rodrigo da Cunha inaugurated on 20 January 1631. The formal introduction to the cause came under

Congregation of Rites validated these previous processes in Rome on 7 March 1716. His spiritual writings were approved by theologians on 20 March 1809.[5]

An antepreparatory congregation that the C.O.R. instituted approved the cause in a meeting on 31 August 1819 with a preparatory committee to follow on 1 July 1840 and then a meeting of the C.O.R. officials on 26 November 1844 in which approval was also confirmed. The late archbishop was declared to have lived a model Christian life of

Venerable on 23 May 1845.[6][5]

The miracle required for beatification was investigated in

Saint Peter's Square.[6]

equipollent canonization of the late archbishop and authorized that the second miracle required for his canonization be waived as a result. The pope approved the late archbishop's equipollent canonization in a decree issued on 5 July 2019 therefore naming him as a saint.[7]

The current postulator assigned to this cause is Vito Tomás Gómez García.

References

  1. ^ "Igreja: Conferência Episcopal Portuguesa declarou São Bartolomeu dos Mártires como «padroeiro dos catequistas»". Ecclesia. 12 November 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Kirsch, Johann Peter (1907). "Ven. Bartholomew of Braga" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Blessed Bartolomeu dei Martiri Fernandes". Saints SQPN. 12 July 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d "Blessed Bartolomeo Fernandes des Martires". Santi e Beati. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  5. ^ a b c Index ac status causarum beatificationis servorum dei et canonizationis beatorum (in Latin). Typis polyglottis vaticanis. January 1953. p. 30.
  6. ^ a b Pope approves canonisation of archbishop Bartholomew of Braga theportugalnews.com
  7. ^ A new saint for the Church and Fulton Sheen soon to be Blessed Vaticannews

External links

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