At Viana do Castelo, in the monastery of the Holy Cross in Portugal, Blessed Bartholomew of the Martyrs Fernandes, bishop of Braga, who, outstanding in integrity of life, labored with the utmost pastoral charity for the needs of his flock and enriched the Church with many writings of sound doctrine.
Lifespan: 1514–1590
Beatified: 4 November 2001 by Pope John Paul II
Canonized: 5 July 2019 by Pope Francis (equipollent canonization)
Memoria liturgica: 16 July
“You will never see me so foolish as to spend on the idle what I could use to sustain the lives of many poor.”
He was born in Lisbon in May 1514. The surname “of the Martyrs” recalls the church of Santa Maria dos Mártires where he was baptized, and replaced the name “Vale,” which had been adopted in memory of his grandfather.
He received the Dominican habit on 11 November 1528 and completed his novitiate at the convent in Lisbon, finishing his philosophical and theological studies in 1538.
He then turned to teaching at the convents of Lisbon, Batalha, and Évora (1538–1557), before becoming prior of the convent of Benfica in Lisbon (1557–1558).
He was presented by Catherine, Queen of Portugal, to succeed the Carmelite Archbishop of Braga, Baltasar Limpo, and was confirmed by Pope Paul IV through the bull Gratiae divinae praemium, dated 27 January 1559. His episcopal ordination was conferred on 3 September at the church of São Domingos in Lisbon.
He accepted this dignity in obedience to his provincial prior, the celebrated writer Venerable Louis of Granada, who had himself initially been proposed by the queen but had instead counselled her to put forward his confrère.
On 4 October 1559 he inaugurated his apostolic mission in the vast archdiocese, a mission that would prove manifold in its reach. Its most notable features deserve mention.
He undertook pastoral visitations and devoted himself to the evangelization of the people, composing for that purpose a Catechism, or Christian Doctrine and Spiritual Practices (in its 15th edition by 1962). He showed particular care for the education and sanctification of the clergy, going so far as to establish schools of Moral Theology in many parts of the diocese, and composing several doctrinal works.
His literary output numbers 32 works, among which the Stimulus Pastorum (22 editions) holds a place of special distinction, having been offered to the Fathers of both the First and Second Vatican Councils.
His concrete commitment to reform is further evidenced by the institutions he brought into being.
In 1560 he entrusted the public schools to the Jesuits, who transformed them into the College of Saint Paul. From 1561 to 1563 he participated in the Council of Trent, presenting 268 petitions—a compendium of proposals for reform in the Church. To implement the Council’s decrees he organized a Diocesan Synod in 1564, followed by a Provincial Synod in 1566. In 1571 or 1572 he began the construction of the Conciliar Seminary at Campo Vinha.
On 23 February 1582 he resigned the office of Archbishop and retired to the Dominican convent of the Holy Cross in Viana do Castelo, which he had founded (1561) to promote ecclesiastical studies and preaching.
In that convent he died on 16 July 1590, acknowledged and acclaimed by the people with the title of “Holy Archbishop,” father of the poor and the sick.
His tomb is venerated in the ancient Dominican church of Viana do Castelo.
He was declared Venerable by Gregory XVI on 23 March 1845. On 7 July 2001 John Paul II recognized the miracle proposed for his beatification, which was celebrated on 4 November—the liturgical memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, with whom Bartholomew of the Martyrs shared an assiduous dedication to carrying out the decrees of the Council of Trent.