Saint Bonfilius
Saint Bonfilius (born c. 1010 AD in Florence, Tuscany, Italy; died c. 1262 AD) was one of the Seven Holy Founders of the Order of Servants of Mary (Servites). He was a prosperous Florentine merchant who, along with six companions, left the world to live a life of prayer and penance on Monte Senario outside Florence in 1233, giving birth to what became the Servite Order—a mendicant religious order devoted to Our Lady of Sorrows. The Seven Holy Founders were collectively beatified in 1888 and canonized on January 15, 1888 by Pope Leo XIII. Their feast day is February 17.
Stored in Cargo: Saint Bonfilius
| Saint Bonfilius | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | February 17 |
| Profession | Florentine merchant; Servite co-founder |
| Rel. Affiliation | Order of Servants of Mary (Servites) — co-founder |
| Patronage | Servite Order; Florence (in part) |
| Attributes | Servite habit (black); seven stars (the Seven Founders); model of Monte Senario |
| Birthplace | Florence, Tuscany, Italy |
| Death Place | Florence area or Monte Senario, Tuscany, Italy |
| Cause of Death | Natural causes |
| Primary Shrine | Monte Senario, Vaglia, Florence Province, Italy |
| Liturgical Class | Memorial (in current Roman calendar as a group feast of the Seven Holy Founders) |
| Historic Class | February 12 |
Biography
The Seven Holy Founders
Bonfilius Monaldi was one of seven Florentine laymen—members of the Laudesi confraternity of Our Lady in Florence—who in 1233 left their prosperous lives to seek God in solitude and poverty. The seven were: Bonfilius Monaldi, Alexis Falconieri, Benedict dell'Antella, Bartholomew Amidei, Ricoverus Uguccione, Gerardino Sostegni, and John Buonagiunta.
They withdrew to Monte Senario, a mountain outside Florence, to live as hermits. On the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 1233, the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to them and given them a vision of their vocation: they were to found a new religious order in her honor, devoted to meditation on her seven sorrows. This apparition gave the order both its Marian character and the name it eventually received: the Order of Servants of Mary (Servites).
Under the spiritual direction of Saint Philip Benizi (a later leader of the order), the Servites developed into a formal mendicant order approved by the papacy. The Seven Founders lived lives of great poverty and prayer, several of them surviving well into old age. Alexis Falconieri was the last to die, in 1310, at the reputed age of 110.
The Seven Founders were beatified together in 1888 and canonized together by Pope Leo XIII on January 15, 1888, as a group—one of the very few collective canonizations in Church history.
Significant events
- Born c. 1010 in Florence; successful merchant.
- With six companions, withdrew to Monte Senario in 1233.
- Vision of Our Lady on August 15, 1233; called to found an order in her honor.
- Co-founded the Order of Servants of Mary (Servites).
- Collectively beatified and canonized January 15, 1888 by Pope Leo XIII.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Death location: Florence area or Monte Senario, Tuscany, Italy
Notable location: The mountain above Florence where the Seven Founders established their hermitage in 1233; mother house of the Servite Order (Monte Senario, Vaglia, Florence Province, Tuscany, Italy)
Notable location: His home city; the Laudesi confraternity where he and his companions met (Florence, Tuscany, Italy)
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Parishes
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Shrines
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Known shrines
- Sanctuary of Monte Senario, Vaglia, Florence Province, Italy — the founding site of the Servites; the hermitage of the Seven Founders.
Canonization
Saint Bonfilius and the other Six Holy Founders of the Servites were canonized on January 15, 1888 by Pope Leo XIII in Vatican City.
Feast day
February 17
Veneration
Saint Bonfilius is venerated together with the other Six Holy Founders of the Servites in the Roman Catholic Church with a feast day on February 17 (Memorial). He is particularly honored in the Servite Order and in Florence.
Prayers
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