Bartholomew of Braga

Portuguese Dominican theologian (1514–1590)

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. Archbishop Gaspar de Bragança inaugurated the apostolic process on 24 September 1760 and then oversaw its closure in May 1766 while the Congregation of Rites validated these previous processes in Rome on 7 March 1716. His spiritual writings were approved by theologians on 20 March 1809. Pope Francis – on 20 January 2016 – authorized the C. C. S. to work towards the 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. The current postulator assigned to this cause is Vito Tomás Gómez García.