Bonaventure

1217–1221 to 1274 · Doctor 1588

Origin: Bagnoregio
Historical identity: Medieval Italian; Bagnoregio
Affiliation: Franciscan (Friars Minor)

Life and work

Franciscan theologian and minister general who combined scholastic reflection with a strongly Christ-centered spirituality. His leadership helped give the expanding Franciscan movement a coherent institutional and spiritual identity.

Places and activities

Bagnoregio

c. 1217/1221

Born Giovanni in the town of Bagnoregio.

Benedict XVI: Bonaventure

Paris

c. 1235-1257; also later returns

Studied, entered the Franciscans and became a master of theology.

Benedict XVI: Bonaventure

Narbonne

1260

Led the general chapter that adopted the Narbonne constitutions.

Benedict XVI: Bonaventure

Lyon / Lyons

1274

Worked for church reunion at the second council and died during it.

Benedict XVI: Bonaventure

Catholic Encyclopedia

Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Bonaventure

Primary sources

Further reading

Wikipedia

Bonaventure

Dates and research notes

Years are historical biographical dates; an approximate label on a place record remains approximate.

Selected sourced locations; not a complete itinerary. All geographic coordinates are approximate.

Lifetime associations, not citizenship or a claim that all affiliations were held simultaneously.

Primary text or author archive. Its presence in the bibliography does not by itself support every map claim.

Official modern biographical overview; not contemporary evidence for the saint's travels.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907. Biographical article.

Oxford University Press, 2011. Recommended reference; consult the relevant entry and its bibliography. Not treated as read evidence for individual seed claims.

Updated 2026-11-01