Saint Bartholomew of Braga

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 Order of Preachers as well as the Archbishop Emeritus of Braga. 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. The sainthood process commenced under Pope Benedict XIV on 11 September 1754 and he was titled as a Servant of God while Pope Gregory XVI later named him as Venerable on 23 May 1845. Pope John Paul II beatified Fernandes in Saint Peter's Square on 4 November 2001. 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. Bartolomeu Fernandes was born near Lisbon on 3 May 1514 to Domingos Fernandes and Maria Correia; he was baptized mere hours after in the local parish church of Nossa Senhora dos Mártires. 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. 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 Batalha convent he was summoned to Évora at the request of Luis of Portugal, Duke of Beja to undertake the religious education of his son who was entering the ecclesiastical life himself; he dedicated time to this great task.