He was one of the original twelve men chosen by Christ and instructed and trained for the Christian ministry. He was a companion of our Lord during the part of his public life and after the death, resurrection and ascension of our Divine Savior, he received the graces, gifts and blessings of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and was taught by the Paraclete Himself in the school of Divinity.

His virtues, that shone so bright during the years that he was with the Son of God, were newly illuminated by the Holy Spirit who prepared the Apostles for the conversion of the nations. They were told "Go forth into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and behold I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world. Who hears you hears Me and who despises you despises Me. Whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven; whose sins you retain they are retained. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood shall have life in him. If anyone is sick among you, let him call in the priests of the Church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, and if the sick man shall be in sins, his sins shall be forgiven him."

Christ gave the Apostles the power to teach and govern, to ordain priest, to consecrate bishops, with St. peter the guiding head. So the Apostles prayed, said Mass, preached, baptized, confirmed, administered Holy Eucharist, forgave sins, anointed the sick, ordained priest, consecrated bishops and blessed Christian marriage. They worked miracles and they suffered, fasted, and were men of self-denial living heroic lives and dying heroic deaths. The Roman Martyrology says St. Bartholomew preached in Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, India and Greater Armenia where he was flayed and beheaded.