Bishop and Doctor of the Church · Feast day July 15
St. Bonaventure
The feast day of St. Bonaventure is July 15, a memorial in the US Catholic calendar. Below: a short life and 2 sourced quotations in their own words.
| Feast day | July 15 |
|---|---|
| In the US calendar | Memorial |
| Title | Bishop and Doctor of the Church |
| Died | c. 1274 |
| In their own words | 2 sourced quotations |
| Next on Bless’s Today screen | None left in the published calendar (through December 31, 2028) |
Life
Minister general of the Franciscans a generation after Francis, and the order’s second founder in troubled times. Paris colleague and friend of Thomas Aquinas, he matched the Dominican’s logic with a theology of love and ascent.
His Journey of the Mind to God begins from the wounds of the crucified Christ. Made cardinal, he was found washing dishes when the legates brought the red hat. He is the Seraphic Doctor.
In their own words
Each quotation names the work it comes from. Bless quotes these in the comments beside the verses listed under In Scripture.
No one can be made happy unless he rise above himself, not by an ascent of the body, but of the heart.
O human heart, you are harder than any hardness of rocks, if at the recollection of such great expiation you are not struck with terror, nor moved with compassion, nor shattered with compunction, nor softened with devoted love.
In Scripture
In Bless, St. Bonaventure’s words appear in the comments beside these verses. This page’s labels say how each is linked: “on this verse” means the saint wrote about that very verse; “on this theme” means the quotation shares its theme. Scripture is quoted from the Catholic Public Domain Version.
On this theme
Blessed are those who dwell in your house, O Lord. They will praise you from age to age.
Psalm 83:5 · CPDV Beside their words: “No one can be made happy unless he rise above himself, not by an ascent of the body, but…”
On this theme
But he himself was wounded because of our iniquities. He was bruised because of our wickedness. The discipline of our peace was upon him. And by his wounds, we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5 · CPDV Beside their words: “O human heart, you are harder than any hardness of rocks, if at the recollection of such…”
On this theme
And I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of prayers. And they will look upon me, whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they will feel sorrow over him, as one would be sorrowful at the death of a firstborn.
Zechariah 12:10 · CPDV Beside their words: “O human heart, you are harder than any hardness of rocks, if at the recollection of such…”
On this theme
Therefore, if you have risen together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Consider the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth.
Colossians 3:1–2 · CPDV Beside their words: “No one can be made happy unless he rise above himself, not by an ascent of the body, but…”
In the calendar
The upcoming dates, through December 31, 2028, when Bless’s Today screen shows St. Bonaventure. Where the US calendar keeps another celebration that day, it is named instead and no rank is given.
Readings
No dates are left in Bless’s published calendar, which runs through December 31, 2028. St. Bonaventure keeps July 15 in Bless’s calendar of saints: see the saints of July.
All the saints of July Born on July 15? A saint for every day
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