BARTOLOMEO de MARTYRIBUS, venerable. — Dominican reformer, b. at Lisbon in May 1514, where he was baptized in the church of S. Maria dei Martiri, from which he took the surname De Martyribus. Having entered the Dominicans in 1527 and completed his studies, he devoted himself to teaching for some twenty years. Master of theology at Salamanca in 1551 and tutor at the royal court for two years, in 1558 he became archbishop of Braga. As primate of Spain, he took part in the last nine sessions of the Council of Trent, distinguishing himself as a frank and vigorous advocate of the residence of bishops and of the disciplinary reform of the clergy. The celebrated saying is attributed to him: “The most eminent cardinals need a most eminent reform.” Having withdrawn into private life in 1582, he d. in the convent of Viene on 16 July 1590. His Cause of beatification was introduced on 11 Sept. 1754.
Writings: Compendium spiritualis doctrinae ex variis s. Patrum sententiis (Lisbon 1582; Italian trans. by A. Alessi, Genoa 1616); Stimulus pastorum (Rome 1564; edited by s. Carlo Borromeo); Catechismo da doutrina christia (Lisbon 1562). His Opera omnia were edited by M. Inguinbert (Rome 1734–35).