Bartholomew of Braga

Bartholomew of Braga (born Bartolomeu Fernandes; 3 May 1514 – 16 July 1590), in religion Bartolomew of the Martyrs, was a Portuguese Dominican prelate who served as Archbishop of Braga. He participated in the Council of Trent and collaborated with Charles Borromeo there. He also established hospitals and hospices in Braga while publishing a range of works, including catechism.

The sainthood process for him commenced under Pope Benedict XIV in 1754 and he was titled as a Servant of God. Pope Gregory XVI declared him Venerable in 1845. Pope John Paul II beatified Fernandes in Saint Peter's Square on 4 November 2001. Pope Francis approved the equipollent canonization for him in 2019 after waiving the second miracle needed for him to become a saint.

Life 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.