Blessed Bartholomew of Tuscany
Blessed Bartholomew Buonpedoni of San Gimignano (born c. 1227 AD in Mucchio, Tuscany, Italy; died December 14, 1300 AD in San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy) was an Italian Franciscan tertiary from Tuscany who is particularly venerated for his extraordinary patience in suffering. He spent 20 years ministering to lepers and then, struck by a severe illness of his own, spent the final 20 years of his life as an invalid — borne with heroic patience and spiritual peace. He is also known as "Blessed Bartholomew of Tuscany" for his Tuscan identity. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2000 or had his cult confirmed earlier. His feast day is December 14.
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Bartholomew of Tuscany
| Blessed Bartholomew of Tuscany | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | December 14 |
| Profession | Franciscan tertiary; secular priest; minister to lepers; patient sufferer; Tuscan Catholic holy man |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Franciscan Third Order; Italian Catholic Church; Tuscan Catholic tradition; 13th-century Italian Franciscan movement |
| Patronage | San Gimignano; Tuscany; lepers; the sick; the suffering; Franciscan tertiaries; those who bear illness with patience |
| Attributes | Franciscan tertiary habit (or priest's vestments); a leper (symbol of his ministry); a sick bed (his final 20 years); lily (patience and purity); Tuscan towers (San Gimignano) |
| Birthplace | Mucchio (near Peccioli), Pisa, Tuscany, Italy |
| Death Place | San Gimignano, Siena, Tuscany, Italy |
| Cause of Death | Natural death after a long illness; died December 14, 1300, in San Gimignano in Tuscany; he was approximately 73 years old; he had suffered from a severe, debilitating illness for approximately 20 years before his death; he had spent the first half of his apostolic life ministering to lepers (c. 1260–1280) and then himself was struck by a serious illness (possibly leprosy, or another debilitating condition) that left him bedfast for the last 20 years of his life; he bore this suffering with extraordinary patience, peace, and spiritual joy; Pope Innocent IV confirmed his cult in 1300 or nearby; his feast day is December 14 |
| Primary Shrine | San Gimignano, Siena, Tuscany, Italy — church of his veneration; December 14 feast; Tuscan pilgrimage |
| Liturgical Class | Not in universal Roman calendar; December 14 feast in Tuscany and in the Franciscan Order |
| Historic Class | Not in 1962 calendar |
Biography
Bartholomew Buonpedoni was born around 1227 near Mucchio in the Pisa province of Tuscany. He became a priest and a Franciscan tertiary. For approximately 20 years he devoted himself to the care of lepers in the Tuscan countryside, following the example of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Around 1280, he was struck by a severe, debilitating illness that left him an invalid. He spent the final 20 years of his life confined by illness, bearing it with extraordinary patience, peace, and spiritual joy.
He died December 14, 1300, in San Gimignano, Tuscany — in the year of the first great Jubilee proclaimed by Pope Boniface VIII.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Mucchio (near Peccioli), Pisa, Tuscany, Italy
Death location: San Gimignano, Siena, Tuscany, Italy
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Feast day
December 14
Veneration
Blessed Bartholomew of Tuscany (c. 1227–1300) was a Tuscan Franciscan tertiary and priest who spent 20 years ministering to lepers and 20 years as an invalid himself — a life of heroic charity and patient suffering ending in San Gimignano in the Jubilee year of 1300. Feast December 14.
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