Celebrating St. Bonaventure

St. Bonaventure

On July 15 we celebrate the feast of Saint Bonaventure. This beloved friar exemplifies the Franciscan intellectual tradition. A native of Bagnoregio in Italy, Bonaventure or John, which was his baptismal name, attended the University of Paris, one of Europe’s oldest post secondary institutions. Here he completed his Master of Arts degree with specializations in logic and rhetoric. At around this time he also became a Franciscan.

Bonaventure’s association with the Franciscans however started much earlier in his life. The great scholar was born in 1221. A sickly child, he was once brought to Francis of Assisi who was still alive at the time. Francis prayed over Bonaventure and brought the child back to health.

St. Bonaventure at the Council of Lyon

Bonaventure spent a fair part of his life as a lecturer at the University of Paris. His oratory skills and the content of his lectures attracted many eager students. In 1256, Bonaventure’s lectures stopped when lay professors at the university mounted a protest against their religious colleagues.

After his career at the University of Paris, Bonaventure became Minister General of the Franciscans; during his time as Minister General he managed to unite the Franciscan Order.

Bonaventure died in 1274 at the Council of Lyon to which he had been invited by Pope Gregory X.

(Sources of all related images on webpage and homepage: www.wikipedia.org and cte.rockhurst.edu.)