Saint’s Corner - St. Bonaventure
On July 15th we remember St. Bonaventure who was born in Bagnorea in 1221. He was a member of the Franciscans and studied at the University of Paris. Saint Bonaventure quickly became one of the greatest theological minds of his time and, indeed, in the history of the Church. During his life he wrote many theological treatises and taught at the same time as St. Thomas Aquinas. He preached with great fervor and in 1257 was named the mister general of the Friars Minor. When dissention in the Franciscans threatened to divide the order, St. Bonaventure brought them back together by writing a set of constitutions which reformed the order. Saint Bonaventure turned down becoming Archbishop of York but 8 years later he was ordered to come to Rome and was made cardinal-bishop of Albano. Saint Bonaventure died in 1274 and was declared a doctor of the Church in 1588.