Three Franciscans shared their knowledge, perspectives and wisdom on St. Bonaventure, the saint, in a Fireside Chat at Mt. Irenaeus.
The conversation in March featured Br. Tyler Grudi, ofm, a 2019 St. Bonaventure University alumnus who serves the homeless population at St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia; Jean-Francois Godet-Calogeras, a medieval historian and professor emeritus from the Franciscan Institute at St. Bonaventure University; and Br. Joseph Kotula, ofm, from the Mt. Irenaeus community, who moderated the discussion.
Opening the conversation, Br. Joe said, “Franciscans are fun, and we are going to have fun today.” And, so it was, with questions that elicited spirited discussion on Bonaventure’s spirituality, contributions to Franciscan life, and to church history.
Jean-Francois and Br. Tyler examined Bonaventure’s view of justice, which is to make beautiful that which has been deformed, and his improbable journey from scholarship at the University of Paris to focus on the identity of the Order of Friars Minor outside of the arena of scholarship and based on the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi.
Attendees, all of whom were invited to participate in the discussion, were both in-person and via livestream on the Mountain’s Facebook page. Perhaps the most unexpected communication came from Bonaventure alumnus Patrick Brennan. Patrick shared a copy of his 1981 editor-in-chief column, entitled “In Search of St. Bonaventure,” in The BonaVenture student newspaper, detailing his difficulty in obtaining information on Bonaventure, the saint.
The Mt. Irenaeus Secular Franciscans and the Mountain’s Council for Spirit and Life, who co-sponsored the gathering, hope that the recent Fireside Chat shed a bit more knowledge about this important Franciscan saint.
