About Today
Tuesday 15 July 2025
Saint Bonaventure, Bishop, Doctor on Tuesday of week 15 in Ordinary Time
The Lord is the source of all wisdom: come, let us adore him.
Year: C(I). Psalm week: 3. Liturgical Colour: White.
St Bonaventure (1218 - 1274)
Bonaventure was born at Bagnoregio in Etruria in about 1218. He became a Franciscan in 1243 and studied philosophy and theology at the University of Paris. He became a famous teacher and philosopher, part of the extraordinary intellectual flowering of the 13th century. He was a friend and colleague of St Thomas Aquinas.
At this time the friars were still a new and revolutionary force in the Church, and their radical embracing of poverty and rejection of institutional structures raised suspicion and opposition from many quarters. Bonaventure defended the Franciscan Order and, after he was elected general of the order in 1255, he ruled it with wisdom and prudence. He is regarded as the second founder of the Order.
He declined the archbishopric of York in 1265 but was made cardinal bishop of Albano in 1273, dying a year later in 1274 at the Council of Lyons, at which the Greek and Latin churches were (briefly) reconciled.
Bonaventure wrote extensively on philosophy and theology, making a permanent mark on intellectual history; but he always insisted that the simple and uneducated could have a clearer knowledge of God than the wise.
He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1588 by Pope Sixtus V.
See also the articles in the Catholic Encyclopaedia and Wikipedia.
Other saints: St Swithun (- 862)
Portsmouth
Little is known of St Swithun’s life. Born in Wessex, his name is sometimes spelled ‘Swithin’. He died on 2 July 862, though the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says 861. He left orders that his body was not to be buried within the church but outside in a “vile and unworthy place”.
Egbert, King of Wessex, chose Swithun as his chaplain and entrusted to him the education of his son Æthelwulf, who succeeded to the throne in 839. Æthelwulf appointed Swithun Bishop of Winchester in 852 and during the ten years of his episcopate he became famous for his charitable gifts and for his activity in the building of churches. He is reputed to have accompanied King Alfred to Rome in 856.
His body was moved from its almost unknown grave into the Old Minster at Winchester on 15 July 971, and this day became his feast-day. His transferral was preceded and followed by numerous miracles. His body was probably later split between a number of smaller shrines. His head was certainly detached and taken to Canterbury Cathedral, while one of his arms found a resting place in Peterborough Abbey. His main shrine was transferred to the present (then new) Norman cathedral of Winchester in 1093. His remains were installed on a ‘feretory platform’ above and behind the high altar (the feretory chapel still exists). His shrine became a great focus for pilgrims, and the cathedral’s retrochoir was built in the early 13th century to accommodate the large numbers of people wishing to visit his shrine and enter the ‘holy hole’ beneath him. His shrine was moved into the retrochoir in 1476. It was demolished in 1538 during the ‘English Reformation’, and a modern representation was placed on the site by the Dean and Chapter in 1962.
Other saints: St Osmund of Salisbury (-1099)
15 Jul
Plymouth: 2 Dec
Clifton, Hexham & Newcastle: 4 Dec
Osmund, bishop of Sarum or Salisbury, was Norman by birth, the son of Henry, count of Seez; he followed William the Conqueror to England. Here he became Royal Chaplain, until he was promoted to be Chancellor in 1072. He wrote royal letters and charters, obtaining useful experience as an administrator. In 1078 he succeeded Herman as Bishop of Salisbury. The see had been formed by uniting those of Sherborne and Ramsbury and making the new centre at Old Sarum, where the cathedral was built in the same enclosure as the royal castle. Osmund completed and consecrated this cathedral, and formed a chapter with its own constitution, which later became a model for other English cathedrals.
Osmund died on 3rd or 4th December 1099 and was buried in his cathedral at Old Sarum. His chasuble and staff were among the treasures there in 1222; but in 1226 his body and its tomb were translated to the new cathedral of Salisbury.
Saint Bonaventure, Bishop, Doctor
Gospel Matthew 11:20-24
At that time: Jesus began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had beendone, because they did not repent. ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if themighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented longago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgementfor Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? Youwill be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done inSodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable onthe day of judgement for the land of Sodom than for you.’
Reflection on the painting
Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Bonaventure, the great Franciscan theologian, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church. The painting we reflect upon today is one of a seriesof eight works by Herrera and Zurbarán, created for the church of the Collegio de San Buenaventura in Seville, illustrating key moments from the life of Saint Bonaventure (1221–1274). This particular canvas depicts the young Bonaventure kneeling before SaintFrancis of Assisi, receiving the Franciscan habit. The artists chose a palette of earthy beigeand brown tones throughout the series, visually echoing the simplicity of the Franciscan habit and spirit.
Saint Bonaventure is often regarded as the second founder of the Franciscan Order. LikeSaint Francis, he placed Christ at the very heart of his theology, philosophy, and pastoralvision. All his writings flow from a deep love of Christ. His seminal work, The Journey of theMind to God, offers a profound reflection on how reason and faith together lead the soultowards union with God. In Bonaventure, we encounter a theologian whose intellect wasmatched by deep humility and burning devotion. He lived as a man in whom faithilluminated reason, and reason deepened faith. For him, the love of God and the pursuit oftruth were not two paths, but one single journey of the heart and mind toward the divine.
The painting draws us into a moment of reverence. The scene unfolds within a simple, dimlylit interior, underscoring the solemnity of the occasion. Bonaventure kneels in an attitude ofhumility and devotion, his youthful form ready to embrace the Franciscan way of life withgreat enthusiasm. Before him, Saint Francis sits with gentle authority, presenting the habit, agesture rich in symbolism. It marks not only Bonaventure’s formal entry into the Order, butalso the spiritual passing of Franciscan ideals to the young theologian, who would go on toarticulate them for generations to come.
Saint Bonaventure receiving the Habit from Saint Francis,Painting by Francisco de Herrera the Elder ( 1590-1654),Painted in 1628,
Saint Bonaventure, Bishop, Doctor on Tuesday of week 15 in Ordinary Time
The Lord is the source of all wisdom: come, let us adore him.
Year: C(I). Psalm week: 3. Liturgical Colour: White.
St Bonaventure (1218 - 1274)
Bonaventure was born at Bagnoregio in Etruria in about 1218. He became a Franciscan in 1243 and studied philosophy and theology at the University of Paris. He became a famous teacher and philosopher, part of the extraordinary intellectual flowering of the 13th century. He was a friend and colleague of St Thomas Aquinas.
At this time the friars were still a new and revolutionary force in the Church, and their radical embracing of poverty and rejection of institutional structures raised suspicion and opposition from many quarters. Bonaventure defended the Franciscan Order and, after he was elected general of the order in 1255, he ruled it with wisdom and prudence. He is regarded as the second founder of the Order.
He declined the archbishopric of York in 1265 but was made cardinal bishop of Albano in 1273, dying a year later in 1274 at the Council of Lyons, at which the Greek and Latin churches were (briefly) reconciled.
Bonaventure wrote extensively on philosophy and theology, making a permanent mark on intellectual history; but he always insisted that the simple and uneducated could have a clearer knowledge of God than the wise.
He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1588 by Pope Sixtus V.
See also the articles in the Catholic Encyclopaedia and Wikipedia.
Other saints: St Swithun (- 862)
Portsmouth
Little is known of St Swithun’s life. Born in Wessex, his name is sometimes spelled ‘Swithin’. He died on 2 July 862, though the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says 861. He left orders that his body was not to be buried within the church but outside in a “vile and unworthy place”.
Egbert, King of Wessex, chose Swithun as his chaplain and entrusted to him the education of his son Æthelwulf, who succeeded to the throne in 839. Æthelwulf appointed Swithun Bishop of Winchester in 852 and during the ten years of his episcopate he became famous for his charitable gifts and for his activity in the building of churches. He is reputed to have accompanied King Alfred to Rome in 856.
His body was moved from its almost unknown grave into the Old Minster at Winchester on 15 July 971, and this day became his feast-day. His transferral was preceded and followed by numerous miracles. His body was probably later split between a number of smaller shrines. His head was certainly detached and taken to Canterbury Cathedral, while one of his arms found a resting place in Peterborough Abbey. His main shrine was transferred to the present (then new) Norman cathedral of Winchester in 1093. His remains were installed on a ‘feretory platform’ above and behind the high altar (the feretory chapel still exists). His shrine became a great focus for pilgrims, and the cathedral’s retrochoir was built in the early 13th century to accommodate the large numbers of people wishing to visit his shrine and enter the ‘holy hole’ beneath him. His shrine was moved into the retrochoir in 1476. It was demolished in 1538 during the ‘English Reformation’, and a modern representation was placed on the site by the Dean and Chapter in 1962.
Other saints: St Osmund of Salisbury (-1099)
15 Jul
Plymouth: 2 Dec
Clifton, Hexham & Newcastle: 4 Dec
Osmund, bishop of Sarum or Salisbury, was Norman by birth, the son of Henry, count of Seez; he followed William the Conqueror to England. Here he became Royal Chaplain, until he was promoted to be Chancellor in 1072. He wrote royal letters and charters, obtaining useful experience as an administrator. In 1078 he succeeded Herman as Bishop of Salisbury. The see had been formed by uniting those of Sherborne and Ramsbury and making the new centre at Old Sarum, where the cathedral was built in the same enclosure as the royal castle. Osmund completed and consecrated this cathedral, and formed a chapter with its own constitution, which later became a model for other English cathedrals.
Osmund died on 3rd or 4th December 1099 and was buried in his cathedral at Old Sarum. His chasuble and staff were among the treasures there in 1222; but in 1226 his body and its tomb were translated to the new cathedral of Salisbury.
Saint Bonaventure, Bishop, Doctor
Gospel Matthew 11:20-24
At that time: Jesus began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had beendone, because they did not repent. ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if themighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented longago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgementfor Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? Youwill be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done inSodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable onthe day of judgement for the land of Sodom than for you.’
Reflection on the painting
Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Bonaventure, the great Franciscan theologian, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church. The painting we reflect upon today is one of a seriesof eight works by Herrera and Zurbarán, created for the church of the Collegio de San Buenaventura in Seville, illustrating key moments from the life of Saint Bonaventure (1221–1274). This particular canvas depicts the young Bonaventure kneeling before SaintFrancis of Assisi, receiving the Franciscan habit. The artists chose a palette of earthy beigeand brown tones throughout the series, visually echoing the simplicity of the Franciscan habit and spirit.
Saint Bonaventure is often regarded as the second founder of the Franciscan Order. LikeSaint Francis, he placed Christ at the very heart of his theology, philosophy, and pastoralvision. All his writings flow from a deep love of Christ. His seminal work, The Journey of theMind to God, offers a profound reflection on how reason and faith together lead the soultowards union with God. In Bonaventure, we encounter a theologian whose intellect wasmatched by deep humility and burning devotion. He lived as a man in whom faithilluminated reason, and reason deepened faith. For him, the love of God and the pursuit oftruth were not two paths, but one single journey of the heart and mind toward the divine.
The painting draws us into a moment of reverence. The scene unfolds within a simple, dimlylit interior, underscoring the solemnity of the occasion. Bonaventure kneels in an attitude ofhumility and devotion, his youthful form ready to embrace the Franciscan way of life withgreat enthusiasm. Before him, Saint Francis sits with gentle authority, presenting the habit, agesture rich in symbolism. It marks not only Bonaventure’s formal entry into the Order, butalso the spiritual passing of Franciscan ideals to the young theologian, who would go on toarticulate them for generations to come.
Saint Bonaventure receiving the Habit from Saint Francis,Painting by Francisco de Herrera the Elder ( 1590-1654),Painted in 1628,