St. Bartholomew (Nathanael), one of Jesus’s twelve apostles, is venerated as the patron saint of tanners and leatherworkers. Known for his guileless nature and profound faith, Christ himself declared of him, “Here is a man in whom there is no deception.” His prayers reflect themes of truthfulness, sincere faith, and divine discernment.
These prayers are particularly meaningful for those seeking clarity of faith and protection from deception, embodying Bartholomew’s journey from initial skepticism (“Can anything good come from Nazareth?”) to unwavering discipleship.
Historical Context
Saint: Bartholomew (Nathanael)
Feast Day: August 24
Patronage: Tanners, leatherworkers, bookbinders, butchers
Era: 1st Century AD
Saint Bartholomew Prayer 1
O Almighty and everlasting God,
Who didst give to thine Apostle Bartholomew grace
truly to believe and to preach thy Word:
Grant, we beseech thee, unto thy Church,
to love that Word which he believed,
and both to preach and receive the same;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Best Times for This Prayer:
Saint Bartholomew Prayer 2
O Jesus,
Saint Bartholomew’s greatest desire was to know the truth.
When first informed about You, his initial reaction was,
“How can anything good come from Nazareth?”
But as soon as he met You, he wanted to become one of Your disciples.
You said of him, “Here is a man in whom there is no deception.”
I ask him to pray against the deceptions that are influencing me
and the people I know.
Help us to experience Your affirmation when we are honest,
give us courage to resist lying as a means of self-protection,
and inspire our minds to recognize the truth when we hear it.
Saint Bartholomew, pray for us.
Amen.
Best Times for This Prayer:
Saint Bartholomew Prayer 3
O holy apostle,
The Church prays for grace to love what thou didst believe
and to preach what thou didst teach.
Not that the bride of the Son of God could ever fail
either in faith or in love;
but she knows only too well that,
though her Head is ever in the light,
and her heart ever united to the Spouse in the holy Spirit
who sanctifies her,
nevertheless her several members,
the particular churches of which she is composed,
may Detach themselves from their center of life
and wander away in darkness.
O thou who didst choose our west as the place of thy rest;
thou whose precious relics Rome glories in possessing,
bring back to Peter the nations thou didst evangelize;
fulfill the now reviving hopes of universal union;
second the efforts made by the vicar of the Man-God
to gather again under the shepherd’s crook
those scattered flocks whose pastures have become parched by schism.
May thine own Armenia be the first to complete a return
which she began long ago;
may she trust the mother Church and no more follow the sowers of discord.
All being reunited, may we together enjoy the treasures
of our concordant traditions,
and go to God, even at the cost of being despoiled of all things,
by course so grand and yet so simple taught us
by thy example and by thy sublime theology.
Amen.
Best Times for This Prayer:
Saint Bartholomew Prayer 4
O Glorious Saint Bartholomew,
Jesus called you a person without guile
and you saw in this word a sign that he was
the Son of God and King of Israel.
Obtain for us the grace to be ever guileless and innocent as doves.
At the same time, help us to have your gift of faith
to see the Divine hand in the events of daily life.
May we discern the signs of the times that lead to Jesus on earth
and will eventually unite us to him forever in heaven.
Amen.
Best Times for This Prayer:
Saint Bartholomew Prayer 5
O Lord God,
Our humble petition but unite it with that of
Apostle Bartholomew and of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Queen of the Apostles,
so that we may obtain the grace of true repentance for our Sins,
of divine assistance in our spiritual and temporal wants,
and of constant fidelity to all our Christian duties.
This we ask through Jesus Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.
