SAINT BARTHOLOMEW
Apostle
Feast
St. Bartholomew was one of the Twelve appointed by our Lord. Like Nathaniel, he was born in Cana, Galilee. He was one of Christ's seventy-two disciples and witnessed the Ascension.
St. Bartholomew is mentioned among the disciples who met together in prayer after Christ's ascension. Praying together with the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Bartholomew received from Jesus the Holy Spirit in the form of tongues of fire. Being justified by grace to discharge the functions of an apostle, St. Bartholomew carried the Gospel to the ends of the earth. He preacheed as far as Bombay, India before returning to northwest Asia. There, he met St. Philip at Hierapolis in Phrygia and afterward travelled into Lycaonia.
St. Bartholomew's last mission was into Greater Armenia. While preaching the Gospel in a place of pagan worship and idolatry, St. Bartholomew was apprehended, flayed alive, and eventually crucified. His sacrifice is a historical link to Western Civilization's dialogue and freedom of speech.