CrucisSt. Bonaventure
St. Bonaventure was born Giovanni di Fidanza around 1221 at Bagnoregio in central Italy, and died on 15 July 1274 at Lyon during the Second Council of the Church held there. According to tradition he was healed of a childhood illness through the prayers of St. Francis of Assisi. He joined the Franciscans, studied and taught theology at the University of Paris alongside his friend St. Thomas Aquinas, and became one of the great masters of the age.
Elected minister general of the Franciscans in 1257, he guided the order through a period of internal division with such wisdom that he is often called its 'second founder,' and he wrote the authoritative Life of St. Francis. A profound mystical theologian, his works — above all The Soul's Journey into God — earned him the title Seraphic Doctor. Created a cardinal shortly before his death, he was canonized in 1482 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1588.
Selected quotes
“The Incarnation reveals both the dignity of matter and the humility of God — He did not disdain to become what He made, and in doing so sanctified everything.”
“The Seraphic Doctor offers not a system but a road — begin with wonder at creation, pass through Christ Crucified, and arrive at the God who is Love without end.”
“Every act of charity is a small participation in divine goodness — for the good diffuses itself, and the charitable soul becomes a channel of God's own self-giving.”