The 3rd May 2014 marks the commemoration of the five hundredth anniversary of the birth of Blessed Friar Bartolomeu dos Mártires, Archbishop of Braga, and one of the prominent personalities of the sixteenth century. He was born in 1514 in the parish of Mártires in Lisbon, patronym which he adopted, and at the age of fifteen he entered the Order of Preachers, professing the Dominican religious life in the São Domingos Convent of Lisbon in 1529.
Between 1540 and 1551, year in which he received his Master’s degree in Theology by the General Chapter celebrated in Salamanca, he taught philosophy and theology at the Convent of Our Lady of Vítória, in Batalha.
In 1558, due to pressure from Queen Catarina and her Prior Provincial friar Luís de Granada, he accepted the appointment to the Archbishopric of Braga, having entered the city with a very small delegation and with no fanfare, a fact which earned him some criticisms and the visit of friar Luís de Granada and some other friars to convince him to lead a less austere and humble life.
Shortly after that, in 1561, Blessed Friar Bartolomeu dos Mártires set off for Trento, for the Concilium convened by Pope Pius IV, in which he played a significant role in the debate on some conciliar determinations such as the obligation for Bishops to reside in their Dioceses and the discipline of clergy life.
On returning to Braga, in 1564, he sought to promote the reforms that he had so fervently defended at the Concilium. To this end, he immediately convened a Diocesan Synod and published a Catechism which provided local clergy, in addition to the doctrine to be taught to the people, with some proposals for Sunday and feast day sermons.
In continuing with this reform spirit, he visited all the local churches of his archbishopric, which extended throughout the entire territory of Trás-os-Montes, developing a close and unusual relationship at the time, with the faithful people that were entrusted to him. This same spirit led him to remain in Braga when the plague was declared in 1570.
Taking advantage of the celebration of the Courts of Tomar, in 1581, during which he presided over the oath of Filipe I as king of Portugal, Blessed Friar Bartolomeu dos Mártires presented his request for resignation from the Archbishopric of Braga.
Following the acceptance of his resignation by the king and the Pope, he retired to Viana do Castelo, to the Convent of Santa Cruz, whose foundation and construction owed much to him since 1563, having contributed with his income and alms. It was the return to the tranquility of convent life and to the life of prayer and study which had been so difficult to leave behind.
He died at the Convent of Viana on 16th July 1590. The importance and significance of his life is clearly demonstrated by the city’s request for his memory to be preserved, which friar Luís de Sousa was tasked with, and by the canonical process initiated in Rome which culminated with his beatification in 2001 by Pope John Paul II.
This commemorative stamp issue of this fifth centenary reminds us of the reform within the Church by the one known as the Holy Archbishop.
