Possibly you read that Pope Benedict mentioned another Franciscan in his March 3, 2010 Wednesday audience. St. Bonaventure was acclaimed as “a man who passionately sought Christ…a living ideal for all the followers of St. Francis”. Sister Marie Kolbe Zamora, OSF, a member of our religious community of Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity presently doing doctoral research on this ‘good man, affable, pious and merciful”, may site this address in her thesis.
Sister Marie Kolbe recently took a road trip with others affectionately called ‘Green Bay’ers (all having a connection to the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay, WI) to St. Bonaventure’s home. Here are some of Sister’s comments:
As we approached what was left of “Cività”, I had the sense of silent, deserted majesty. Silent Deserted because hardly anyone is left in this old walled city; majesty because both the structures and the spirit of those who have remained communicate beauty and persevering strength. What is left of the comune is enchanting . . . and that is the best word for it . . . enchanting. The unusual scenery, the unique quality of light, and the silence lent a mystical aura to the old comune.
The curves, arches and light in the streets invited one to imagine how those streets must have originally extended . . . Also, light was, perhaps, the most fundamental category for Bonaventure’s theology. My unexpected experience of the light’s quality in “Cività”, along with the expansive view, gave me a key to appreciating the luminous, expansive theology of this Doctor of the Church.
For more photos click here.
