St. Bartholomew, Apostle

About St. Bartholomew

Feast Day: August 24

St. Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. He is mentioned several times in the synoptic gospels. When Jesus first encounters him, he is “sitting under a fig tree”. This is a Jewish figure of speech indiating that he was studying Scripture. A fig tree provides a shady place to pray and contemplate.

Bartholomew is also widely thought to be the person identified as Nathaniel in the Gospel of John. After the resurrection of Jesus, he is one of the apostles who saw our risen Lord at the Sea of Galilee. He went on to evangelize in Asia Minor and was martyred.

Patron Saint

St. Bartholomew is the patron saint of bookbinders, butchers, cobblers, leather workers, nervous diseases, and neurological diseases.

Resources

• Resources and Reflections for the Gospel of John
• The Early Church (33–313): St. Peter, the Apostles, and Martyrs
• The story of Bartholomew recalls importance of personal experience of Christ