Perhaps not a household name for most people, Saint Bonaventure nevertheless, played an important role in both the medieval Church & the history of the Franciscan Order. 

A senior faculty member at the University of Paris, Saint Bonaventure certainly captured the hearts of his students through his academic skills & insights. More importantly, he captured their hearts through his Franciscan love for Jesus & the Church. 

Like his model Saint Francis, Jesus was the center of everything — his teaching, his administration, his writing, & his life. So much so, that he was given the title “Seraphic Doctor.”

Born in Bagnorea, Italy, in 1221, Saint Bonaventure was baptized John, but received the name Bonaventure when he became a Franciscan at the age of 22. Little is known about his childhood, but we do know that his parents were Giovanni di Fidanza & Maria Ritell. It seems that his father was a physician & a man of means. While Saint Francis died about five years after the saint’s birth, he is credited with healing Bonaventure as a boy of a serious illness.

Saint Bonaventure’s teaching career came to a halt when the Friars elected him to serve as their General Minister. His 17 years of service were not easy as the Order was embroiled in conflicts over the interpretation of poverty. Some friars even ended up in heresy saying that Saint Francis & his community were inaugurating the era of the Holy Spirit which was to replace Jesus, the Church & Scripture. 

Because he was a man of prayer & a good administrator, Saint Bonaventure managed to structure the Order through effective legislation. More importantly, he offered the Friars an organized spirituality based on the vision & insights of Saint Francis. Always a Franciscan at heart & a mystical writer, Bonaventure managed to unite the pastoral & practical aspects of life with the doctrines of the Church. Thus, there is a noticeable warmth to his teachings & writings that make him very appealing.

Shortly before he ended his service as General Minister, Pope Gregory X created him a Cardinal & appointed him bishop of Albano, Rome. But a little over a year later, while participating in the Second Council of Lyon, Saint Bonaventure suddenly died on July 15, 1274. There is a theory that he was poisoned.

Saint Bonaventure left behind a structured & renewed Franciscan Order & a body of work all of which glorifies his major love...Jesus.