Even the possessed have their protector

protector for the possessed. From Heaven there is hope for them too. Thepatron si chiama san Bartolomeo. He was born in Cana, Galilee, one oftwelve apostles of Jesusto whom the basilica of the same name on the Tiber Island in Rome was dedicated in the 10th century. There still seems to be a great need for his intercessions from the afterlife if in a Compendium of psychopathology circulating in university classrooms there is talk of “demonic possession“. It was signed by three professors with excellent CVs: Luigi Janiri, doctor at the Gemelli Polyclinic in the capital; Giovanni Martinotti and Massimo di Giannantonio. All professors of Psychiatry. So does the devil really exist?

In his time thesantohe had no doubts. In theNew Testament Bartholomewit is mentioned at least once: by Matthew, Mark and Luke, who also mentions it in the “Acts of the Apostles”. While with his second nameNathanael– which “means ‘God gave’”, as he explainedBenedict XVIin the general audience of 4 October 2006 – Bartolomeo is also reported by Giovanni and neiSynoptic Gospels.

The patronages of Saint Bartholomew

“È patron of the possessedof the sick ofconvulsionsmigraine, paralysis, varicose veins andmental disorders. It also protects children fromsudden terrors“, explains in his book ‘Santi d’Italia’ (Rizzoli) Alfredo Cattabiani, who passed away in 2003, known among other things for having brought to Italy the famous fantasy story “The Lord of the Rings” by the English philologist John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, published by Rusconi in the turbulent 1970s after a first translation by the Astrolabio publishing house put on sale in 1967, but only with the pages of the “Compagnia of the ring”, without the other two parts of the work.

Missionary journeys and the fight against demons

The saint’s feast day isAugust 24th. “Tradition – continues the author – attributes him longmissionary tripsfrom Arabia to Mesopotamia and finally toArmenia“. And it is precisely in the East – the text continues – as “it is narrated in the ‘Golden Legend’ of Jacopo da Voragine (Dominican friar and bishop of Genoa in the 13th century, ed.), that the apostle arrived inIndia to preach“and quench the boiling spirits. And here begins the pain for the satanassi and thecollection of the possessed.

It is said that one dayBartolomeoentered a temple where in the statue ofAstaroth dimorava un devil. The arrival of the apostle paralyzed the action of the demon, who could no longer give any response. The sick moved to another city where a demon named was worshipedBeiret. The evil being revealed that Bartolomeo himself was responsible for that paralysis, “protected and served byangels of GodThe hunt for the saint continued up to Armenia, where there Polimiohe called him to heal his lunatic daughter, whom Bartholomew freed from another demon.

Martyrdom and the arrival of the relics in Rome

The next morning, Bartolomeo managed to get the man to confessdemon god Astarothforcing him to flee. The sovereign, his family and the people dothey convertedand they were baptized. Astyages, brother of the king, incited bypagan priestscondemned the saint to death:beheaded and flayed. Il martyrdomit takes place in Albanopoli around the year 68. Hisrelicsafter a thousand vicissitudes, they arrived atRomaby intervention of Emperor Otto III.

Saint Bartholomew, patron of professions and dermatologists

From that day onknifeinstrument of martyrdom, has become the threat from which the saint protects. So, Bartolomeo ispatron saint of dermatologistsand spiritual tutor of trades they work withblades and skinscome tannersfurriers, shoemakers and butchers.

The iconography: Michelangelo’s Last Judgment

His is also famousiconography. The image of him is evocative and “next to – as they say in De Agostini’s ‘Saints and patrons’ dictionary – atamed demonBut perhaps the most suggestive image is aSaint Peter. Think of the well-known scene of ‘Last Judgment‘ in theSistine Chapelin cui Michelangelohe painted Saint Bartholomew holding theown skinon which the artist left his self-portrait. Best friends.