St. Bartholomew the Apostle: Feast Day, Patronage & Prayers
Feast day: August 24 (Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle)
Patron of: Armenia, leatherworkers, and tanners.
About St. Bartholomew the Apostle
St. Bartholomew is listed among the Twelve Apostles in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and in the Acts of the Apostles. Many scholars since the early Church have identified him with Nathanael, the friend of Philip whom St. John describes, because John never uses the name Bartholomew and the other Gospels pair Bartholomew with Philip. Nathanael was at first skeptical of a Messiah from Nazareth, but when Jesus greeted him as "an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile," and told him He had seen him under the fig tree, Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God."
Ancient traditions say that after Pentecost Bartholomew carried the Gospel far to the east, to India and to Armenia, where he is venerated as one of the founders of the Armenian Church and where he is said to have been martyred. Because tradition holds that he was flayed alive, art often shows him holding a knife or his own skin, as in Michelangelo's Last Judgment. Bartholomew's story reminds us that Jesus sees and knows us before we come to Him, and that an honest heart without guile is precious to God.
Prayers to St. Bartholomew the Apostle on Daily Catholic Prayers
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