The Seraphic Doctor: St. Bonaventure

By Francesco Chiappelli

The Seraphic Doctor: St. Bonaventure by Francesco Chiappelli explores the life, ecclesiastical service, and teachings of St. Bonaventure, “Seraphic Father” of the Church (1221 - 1274 AD).

About the Author

A secular Franciscan within the Roman Catholic Church, much of Francesco Chiappelli's works reflect Franc

• Language: English
• Publisher: St. Polycarp Publishing House
• Release date: Sep 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9781947707313

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cover-image, The Seraphic Doctor: St. Bonaventure

The Seraphic Doctor

St. Bonaventure

Francesco Chiappelli

The Seraphic Doctor

St. Bonaventure

By Francesco Chiappelli

Copyright © 2018 Francesco Chiappelli

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Cover Image: Statue of St. Bonaventura (Ljubljana Cathedral, Slovenia),

by Alois Staudacher - Laibach, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32514311

ISBN: 1-947707-31-0

ISBN-13: 978-1-947707-31-3

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018946454

Published by St. Polycarp Publishing House

www.stpolycarppublishinghouse.com

[e-mail]

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Preface

In the words of St. Bonaventure (Preface to Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, The Journey of the Mind to God): "...rogo igitur, quod magis pensetur intentio scribentis, quam opus, magis dictorum sensus quam sermo incultus, magis veritas quam venustas, magis exercitatio affectus quam eruditio intellectus. Quod ut fiat, non est harum speculationum progressus perfunctorie transcurrendus, sed morosissime ruminandus...", I ask therefore, that the intent with which this writing was crafted be given greater thought (weight, value) than the thoughts written in my uncultured style, greater its genuine intent than its perhaps vain and forced attempt at charm, greater the sincerity of its intent than its undoubtedly failed attempt at intellectual erudition. Because as it is, the intent of this work does not consist in the speculations it proffers, but rather it is meant to induce some meditation upon what might have been... (with the sincere hope that Bonaventure forgives me for the very, very loose translation of his words).

This work is, as all of my work, dedicated to Olivia, my inspiration, my strength, my muse, my soulmate.

I also acknowledge Fredi and Aimerica, and Marina, who helped me become, by their teaching, examples, suggestions and corrections, who I am today: whom God meant me to become.

In finis, I offer these reflections, as a Secular Franciscan for the last three decades, as all our efforts and endeavors always must, only and most humbly to further the honor and ...

"… la gloria di Colui che tutto move

per l’universo penetra e risplende

in una parte più e meno altrove …. "

(...the glory of He who moves all,

which penetrates and shines through the universe,

in a place more, and less in another...)

(Dante Alighieri, 1265–1321;

La Divina Commedia , Paradiso, I 1–3)

Prologue

Brother Peregrino, not to be confused with Blessed Pellegrino da Falerone, was the personal secretary of Giovanni Fidanza of Bagnoregio, nicknamed Bonaventura since childhood. When Giovanni made his vows into the Franciscan Order, he chose to be called Brother Bonaventura, and is remembered in history as Fra’ Bonaventura.

Fra’ Peregrino was present, records show, when John Buralli, born and raised in Parma, and henceforth known as Fra’ John of Parma, resigned from his responsibilities as the general minister of the mendicant friars established by Francis of Assisi, and appointed to the charge young Fra’ Bonaventura. Fra’ Peregrino became Fra’ Bonaventura’s secretary from that point onward up to his untimely passing, during the much-contested deliberations of the Second Council of Lyon in the Summer of the year of our Lord, anno Domini 1274.

Blessed Fra’ John Buralli of Parma was a noted theologian who taught philosophy and logic - magister logicae - at the then still young university of Bologna. He later became a lecturer at the university of Naples, and eventually at the renowned university of Paris, soon to be called the Sorbonne. His superbly insightful lectures on the Sentences of Peter Lombard were fundamental to Franciscan formation at that time. John served as the sixth Minister general of the Order of Friars Minor during the difficult decade between 1247 and 1257.

As a young Franciscan, John had represented his predecessor, Minister General Fra’ Crescentius of Jesi, who was too ill to attend the First Council of Lyon in 1245. There, Pope Innocent IV had been impressed by the depth of John’s spirituality and the breadth of his theological knowledge, and intervened, with the support of the Fraticelli, the more rigorous branch of the Order at that time, in favor of John’s election as Minister General at the General Chapter of the Order in Lyon. The Fraticelli, as described by another adherent of the