Saint Bartholomew The Apostle

Biography

Saint Bartholomew the Apostle, also known as Bartolomé, Bartolomeo, and Nathanael bar Tolomai, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. He is believed to have been a close friend of Saint Philip and is always mentioned in the Gospels in connection with Philip. It was Philip who brought Bartholomew to Jesus. While there is no existing Gospel attributed directly to Saint Bartholomew, it is mentioned in other writings of the time that he may have written a gospel, which is now lost. According to local tradition and various writings, Saint Bartholomew may have traveled and preached in Asia Minor, Ethiopia, India, and Armenia. The presence of assorted writings in these regions suggests the influence of his teachings. The local tradition also indicates that Saint Bartholomew was a martyr. In terms of his representations, Saint Bartholomew is often portrayed holding a tanner's knife and a human skin. This depiction symbolizes his martyrdom, as he was flayed alive at Albanopolis in Armenia. Another representation includes an elderly man holding a tanner's knife, highlighting his association with leatherworking. Alternatively, he is depicted as a bright red (skinless) man holding his own skin. Saint Bartholomew's feast days are celebrated on several dates. In the Roman calendar, his feast day is observed on 24 August. In the Orthodox calendar, it is celebrated on 11 June. Additionally, his feast day is celebrated on 13 February to commemorate the translation of his relics, on 5 March in Lipari, Sicily, Italy, to celebrate the end of a plague in 1823 through his intercession, and on 16 November in Lipari, Sicily, to commemorate the escape from an earthquake in 1894. Born in Galilee, Saint Bartholomew's relics are held at the Saint Bartholomew-on-the-Tiber Church in Rome, Italy, and in the Canterbury Cathedral in England. He is considered the patron saint against nervous diseases, neurological diseases, twitching, as well as the patron of bookbinders, butchers, cobblers, Florentine cheese merchants, Florentine salt merchants, leatherworkers, plasterers, shoemakers, tanners, trappers, whiteners, and Armenia. He is also recognized as the patron saint of various cities and regions, including the Aeolian Islands, Merksem in Belgium, Potosí in Bolivia, Plzen and Altenburg in Germany, Anghiari, Avezzano, Capriana, Lipari, and several other locations in Italy. Other countries and regions also honor him as their patron saint, such as Gharghur in Malta, Maastricht in the Netherlands, Magalang in the Philippines, Borba in Portugal, and Almagro in Spain.