Bartholomew Estheim Bartholomew Estheim is Hope Estheim ' s father and the husband of Nora Estheim in " Final Fantasy XIII " . He lives in Palumpolum , works for the Sanctum , and has a fractured relationship with his son . Though does not appear in " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " , it is hinted he is a man of politics who founded and supports the Academy . Datalog . " Bartholomew is Hope ' s father . " " He loves both his wife and son , but is clumsy at expressing it . Things are made even more difficult by Hope ' s rebellious age and unreasoning resentment towards his dad . " " Bartholomew has spent his days sick with worry , ever since Hope and Nora were caught up in the middle of the Purge . " " Bartholomew is Hope ' s father , but has difficulties relating to his teenage son . " " Though deeply upset by his wife ' s death , he sees how much Hope has grown during the subsequent events , and encourages him to find his own path and make his own decisions . " " Now wanted by the Sanctum for his actions in aiding Pulse l ' Cie , Bartholomew is currently under the protection of the Cavalry . " " Bartholomew Estheim was originally an economist for a Sanctum - affiliated institute . Following the catastrophe , the newly formed provisional government employed him as a financial advisor , where he was instrumental in the founding of the Academy . " " He is the father of Hope Estheim , the director of the New Cocoon Project . " Profile . Appearance . Bartholomew is a bespectacled middle - aged man in a black suit with black pants . He wears a gray tie and and his neck is white on his suit . He has short brown hair , grey eyes and a beard . Personality . According to the " Final Fantasy XIII Scenario Ultimania " , Bartholomew is a calm and collected intellectual with a high position in society and an income to match . He is a firm but kind man who , despite his difficulties with Hope , truly loves him and wishes the best for him . Like most of the population of Cocoon , he initially believed the Pulse l ' Cie to be monsters , but was quick to change his mind and realize Lightning and company are as human as himself . He is forgiving , level - headed and a true no - nonsense man . Story . " Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero - Promise - " . Bartholomew is briefly mentioned as being unable to go to Bodhum and join Nora and Hope on their ten day vacation because of a business trip , much to Hope ' s relief . " Final Fantasy XIII " . From hearing the news reports of Bodhum being sealed off and everyone in the town being Purge d to Pulse , Bartholomew spends days worrying about the fate of his wife and son . Burdened by the memory of his mother ' s death in the Purge , and his status as a Pulse l ' Cie , Hope initially does not want to reach out to his father . On their journey to Eden , Hope and Lightning pass through Palumpolum , and he agrees to help her get past the PSICOM soldiers patrolling the area . Lightning convinces Hope he must tell his father everything that has happened . After being pursued by PSICOM , Lightning ' s group makes its way to the Estheim Residence , where they meet Bartholomew . Bartholomew is relieved Hope is safe , and Hope tells him about Nora ' s death in the Purge . Grief - stricken , Bartholomew chooses to hide his son and the fellow l ' Cie from the army despite his position as a Sanctum employee , and mends his relationship with Hope . When Snow apologizes for Nora ' s death , Bartholomew forgives him as he fulfilled Nora ' s final request to get Hope home . Snow talks about his plan to save Cocoon from its corrupt fal ' Cie by taking down the Sanctum , but Bartholomew says the populace ' s fear of the l ' Cie would only worsen , causing the people to take up arms against them . PSICOM troops led by Yaag Rosch surround the house and Snow confronts them . When Cavalry troops in disguise cause chaos among the soldiers , Lightning and Hope make Bartholomew look like an unwilling accomplice to prevent him from getting Purged . Before Hope and his friends leave with the Cavalry , Bartholomew tells his son that from now on he must choose his own path in life . Aboard the Cavalry airship " Lindblum " , Hope says his father was taken to a safe location by the Cavalry . Hope is reunited with him in the aftermath of Cocoon ' s fall as depicted in " Final Fantasy XIII - Episode i - " . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 Fragments Before " . In the six months after the Day of Ragnarok , Palumpolum has become the new capital of Cocoon and the military base of operations . Bartholomew is summoned by Cavalry Captain Rygdea to a secret meeting in the city ' s historic concert hall . Rygdea shows Bartholomew an ID card containing internal documents from the Sanctum made by the late Yaag Rosch with his voice - over providing insight to what happened behind the scenes within the Sanctum from his perspective . The card shows the security footage from the day of the incident at Euride Gorge , depicting the Pulse l ' Cie responsible : Fang and Vanille . Watching the footage of PSICOM carrying out the Purge and imagining what Hope and Nora went through , Bartholomew regrets not going to Bodhum with them , believing it to be his punishment for ignoring his family . Watching the rest of the footage Bartholomew feels sorry for how Hope was forced to grow up quickly , lamenting how he wasn ' t there for his son . He learns the l ' Cie were unknowingly being helped by the fal ' Cie who were using them to destroy Cocoon and sacrifice its inhabitants to bring back the Maker . Bartholomew recalls the absurdity of the truth that the fal ' Cie the people of Cocoon saw as gods for centuries sought out a god themselves at the cost of innocent lives like Nora . Rygdea tells Bartholomew of how people had forgotten PSICOM ' s last act of heroism in helping evacuate the populace before Cocoon ' s fall , as they are now seen as evil personified . The former members of the Sanctum pushed the blame for the Siege of Eden on PSICOM for their own profit . Rygdea reveals his plan of using the ID card ' s footage to expose the truth behind the Purge and everything else that led to Cocoon ' s fall , so the former Sanctum members will be held responsible . Bartholomew asks Rygdea what he plans to replace the remnants of the Sanctum with once they are removed from power . Rygdea wishes to create a society where the people think and live for themselves , free of the fal ' Cie . By releasing Rosch ' s documents , Rygdea hopes to clear the reputations of the former Pulse l ' Cie . Rygdea asks Bartholomew to join the new provisional government and put his influence in the political and business worlds to good use . After remembering past words of encouragement from Nora , Bartholomew accepts Rygdea ' s offer . As his condition , Bartholomew says he wants to build a public research institute that will publicize its findings without interference from the government , so people ' s animosity towards Pulse will vanish and nothing like the Purge will happen again . He wants to form a higher education parallel to the institute for children like Hope . They shake hands and seal the agreement . As congresspeople gather in the hall for an assembly , Rygdea prepares to release the secret information as Bartholomew watches from inside the storage room . The congresspeople are in denial about the confidential information and Rosch ' s footage , and Rygdea summons the Palumpolum Security Regiment to arrest everyone for approving of the Purge and conspiring to massacre the people in Bodhum ; thus keeping his promise of removing them from power without bloodshed . Bartholomew leaves the building as a founder of the Academy . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . The " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 Ultimania Omega " reveals Bartholomew retired in 10 AF . He died between 10 and 13 AF , as Hope reveals this to Serah and Noel , when explaining there was nothing left in his original time before he entered his time capsule to reach Academia 4XX AF . After being freed from Bhunivelze ' s control , Hope sees the spirits of his parents , Bartholomew and Nora , offering him the chance to reunite with them in the new world . Hope neglects the offer to save Lightning . Other appearances . " Final Fantasy Trading Card Game " . Bartholomew appears in the trading card game with a Wind - elemental card . Etymology .