Bienheureux Bonaventure de Potenza
Prêtre
franciscain (+ 1711)
de l'Ordre des Frères Mineurs que le Pape Pie VI mis au nombre des bienheureux en raison de son obéissance et de bien d'autres vertus.
À Ravello, près d'Amalfi en Campanie, l'an 1711, le bienheureux Bonaventure de
Potenza, prêtre franciscain conventuel, qui brilla par son obéissance et sa
charité envers tous.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/8729/Bienheureux-Bonaventure-de-Potenza.html
Bienheureux Bonaventure de Potenza
Frère Mineur
(1651-1711)
Le bienheureux Bonaventure était fils d'un tailleur de la petite ville de Potenza, près de Salerne, en Italie. Son enfance fut remarquable par sa gravité, sa piété, son horreur du mal et sa mortification; tout annonçait en lui le saint futur. Il entra, vers l'âge de quinze ans, chez les Frères Mineurs Conventuels; ses supérieurs jugèrent bientôt qu'il était plutôt fait pour la science des Saints que pour toute autre science. Son obéissance était celle d'un enfant. Un jour qu'il cherchait la clef de la sacristie: "Prenez un hameçon, lui dit en riant son supérieur, et repêchez-la, elle est au fond du puits." Bonaventure le fit et retira la clef par le moyen indiqué. Dieu récompensa l'obéissant religieux par d'autres faits non moins extraordinaires.
On admirait sa dévotion au très Saint-Sacrement. Il passait des jours et des nuits auprès du Tabernacle, et souvent il y était ravi en extase; il avait soin que la lampe du sanctuaire ne s'éteignît jamais et veillât, pour ainsi dire, avec son âme. À sa première Messe, ses traits parurent illuminés, ses yeux étaient baignés de larmes; plusieurs fois dans sa vie il fut élevé au-dessus de terre pendant le Saint Sacrifice. Son zèle pour les âmes était si brûlant, qu'il disait un jour: "Si j'étais appelé auprès de quelques pauvres infirmes ou moribonds et que les portes fussent fermées, de façon que je ne susse par où sortir, je ne balancerais pas à me jeter par la fenêtre pour aller sauver leur âme."
Les historiens du bienheureux Bonaventure signalent plusieurs miracles et prophéties qu'il fit de son vivant et qui le rendirent célèbre dans les différents pays où l'obéissance le fit passer. Un jour, par exemple, ayant rencontré un lépreux, il le pressa sur son coeur, l'embrassa avec amour, et à l'instant même le lépreux fut délivré de son mal. Près de mourir, il demanda lui-même les sacrements, pria ses frères de lui pardonner tous les scandales de sa vie, et voulut descendre de son lit pour baiser les pieds de son supérieur; l'obéissance l'en empêcha. Il se mit à chanter des cantiques, récita trois Ave Maria et rendit son âme à Dieu sans agonie.
Abbé L. Jaud, Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950
SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/bx_bonaventure_de_potenza.html
Blessed Bonaventura of
Potenza
Also
known as
Antonio Carlo Gerardo
Lavanca
Bonaventure of Potenza
Carlo Antonio
Carlo Antonio Gerardo
Lavanga
Karl Antonius
Profile
Joined the Friars
Minor Conventual at Nocera, Italy at
age 15. Home missioner in southern Italy,
serving from convents in Campania
Aversa, Maddaloni, Amalfi, Ischia, Nocera
Inferiore, Sorrento, Naples and
finally, Ravello.
Noted novice
master, and known for the theological depth
of his preaching.
Worked fearlessly with plague victims.
A miracle worker,
he had the gifts of healing,
and of levitation,
and saw the soul of his sister ascend into heaven.
Born
4
January 1651 of Potenza, Naples, Italy as Antonio
Carlo Gerardo Lavanga
26
October 1711 in
Ravello, Italy of gangrene while singing a
psalm during a religious ecstasy
26
November 1775 by Pope Pius
VI (cultus
confirmed)
Additional
Information
video
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
nettsteder
i norsk
MLA
Citation
“Blessed Bonaventura of
Potenza“. CatholicSaints.Info. 15 October 2022. Web. 29 October 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-bonaventura-of-potenza/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-bonaventura-of-potenza/
Blessed
Bonaventure of Potenza of the First Order
Article
This servant of God was
born at Potenza, a town of southern Italy, in the year 1651, and received in
Baptism the name of Charles Antony. His poor but virtuous parents, from his
earliest childhood, carefully trained him in the practice of piety and they had
the consolation of seeing their efforts in his behalf bear abundant fruit. The
child found his delight in prayer and good works, and was remarkable for his
modesty, innocence, and spirit of self-denial. He mortified his senses in
various ways, and fasted on Saturdays and the vigils of the feasts of our Lady,
whom he loved with childlike affection.
The pious boy early
evinced a desire of consecrating himself entirely to God. He was taught the
rudiments of Latin by a good priest, and at the age of fifteen, he betook
himself to the convent of the Friars Minor Conventual at Nocera, and begged to
be received into the Order. His petition was granted, and on this occasion, he
received the name of Bonaventure. It would be difficult to describe with what
fervor he embraced the duties of his new state of life and with what zeal he
strove to advance in the practice of every religious virtue. Suffice it to say
that in a short time his extraordinary fervor aroused the admiration of his
brethren and that he was looked upon as a model religious.
After his profession, the
servant of God was sent to the convent at Malatoni to devote himself to the
study of philosophy and theology, and if his progress in learning was rapid,
still more rapid was his progress in the science of the saints. To satisfy his
longing for virtue and perfection, his superiors sent him to the convent at
Amalfi and placed him under the direction of Father Dominic of Muro, a man of
great learning and virtue. Under this enlightened guide, Bonaventure
ceaselessly strove to make his life conformable to that of Christ by the
practice of humility, self-denial, and obedience, and so zealously did he carry
out the instructions of his master that he reached a very high degree of
perfection.
The obedience of the
servant of God was heroic. At the word of his superiors, he at once set out to
fulfill their commands, no matter how disagreeable or difficult. He used to
say, “In obedience I would go to the very depths of hell.” This complete
surrender of self-will was so pleasing to God that he rewarded it with striking
signs and miracles. Humility was the inseparable companion of his childlike
obedience. It was once proposed to make him guardian of the convent at Capri
and afterwards of that at Ravello, but by his earnest entreaties, Bonaventure
obtained a promise that he would never be raised to any dignities in the Order.
His life was always humble, hidden, and wholly given to the service of God. He
was forced, however, to accept for a time the charge of master of novices in
the convent at Nocera. In this difficult and responsible office, he was most
anxious to instill into his charges the practice of humility and obedience, but
he never ordered them to do anything that he had not first done himself, thus
leading them by his example even more than by his words.
A faithful follower of
Saint Francis, Blessed Bonaventure rigorously observed the vow of poverty.
Poverty shone forth in his habit, his cell, and in all that was allotted to his
use. Though he might lawfully have made use of an alleviation of the Rule
granted to his brethren, he availed himself of it as seldom as possible.
The servant of God had to
struggle against many temptations, especially against the promptings of anger.
He had by nature a hot temper, was hasty and quickly aroused, but by constant
watchfulness and self-denial, he had, with the grace of God, overcome himself,
and had acquired a patience proof against everything. He once declared to his
confessor that undeserved reproofs, injustice, or any wrong done to him, made
his blood boil and his heart beat violently, although he remained silent. On such
occasions, he would say to himself, “Burst and die, if thou wilt, but thou
shalt not answer a word.” This angelic meekness he displayed on several
occasions, when insults, outrages and calumnies were showered upon him. He bore
them all in silence and without betraying the least emotion.
As a priest of God,
Blessed Bonaventure labored among the people with wonderful success. His zeal
for the salvation of souls was unbounded. The islands of Capri and Ischia, and
the towns of Naples and Ravello were in turn the scene of his evangelic
ministry. His burning words, and his life of prayer and mortification exercised
the greatest influence on his hearers. His simple sermons, supported by the
grace of God, led the most hardened sinners to repentance and to a good Christian
life. Nothing disheartened him. He would follow people into their homes, and
even into the fields where they were at work, in his persevering search after
the lost sheep. His confessional was besieged by penitents, and he sometimes
spent whole days in it, until he fell fainting with fatigue. No words can
express his tender and compassionate charity for the poor, the sick, and the
afflicted. When an epidemic broke out in a village near Naples, Bonaventure
hastened to the assistance of the sufferers. He waited on them, rendered them
the lowliest services, cured a great number, and did not cease his charitable
labors until he was overcome by fatigue and illness which brought him to
death’s door. This illness was a long one and exceedingly painful. Amid his
sufferings, the servant of God praised and blessed the Lord, who, as he said,
had given him so great a proof of his love. As soon as he had somewhat
recovered, he returned to his labors of zeal and charity.
The apostolic ministry of
the holy man was accompanied by the supernatural gifts which God reserves for
his most favored servants. He was endowed with the gift of miracles, prophecy,
and of reading secrets of the human heart. During the long hours which he spent
in contemplation, and sometimes during Mass, he was rapt in ecstasy and was
seen raised from the ground.
After serving God in the
religious life for forty-five years, Bonaventure, rich in virtue and merit, was
to receive the reward of his labors. His last illness was of ten days duration.
When his last hour drew near, he received the Sacraments with the most tender
devotion. He then made a public confession which drew tears from all present,
as it revealed to them the deep humility of his soul. “I have been the most
unworthy creature,” he declared. “By my laxity I have given scandal to my
brethren and to persons in the world, wherefore, I humbly ask pardon of God and
of all of you.” With aspirations of praise and thanksgiving, and of longing to
be with the object of his love, he peacefully fell asleep in the Lord, on 26
October 1711. He was buried in the church of the convent at Ravello. Many
miracles were wrought at his tomb, and he was beatified by Pope Pius VI, in
1775.
MLA
Citation
Franciscan
Herald, October 1917. CatholicSaints.Info.
15 October 2022. Web. 29 October 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-bonaventure-of-potenza-of-the-first-order/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-bonaventure-of-potenza-of-the-first-order/
Ghizzardi Angelo (attr.) (notizie 1766), incisore, Beato Bonaventura da Potenza, circa 1766, acquaforte, 20.1 x 28.3, Musei Civici di Monza. Gabinetto delle stampe, Monza (MB),
Beato Bonaventura da
Potenza (Antonio Carlo Gerardo Lavanca) Sacerdote dei Frati Minori
Conventuali
Festa: 26 ottobre
Potenza, 4 gennaio 1651 –
Ravello, Salerno, 26 ottobre 1711
Padre Bonaventura da
Potenza nacque il 4 gennaio 1651; gli fu dato, al fonte battesimale, il nome di
Antonio Carlo Gerardo. Entrò all'età di 15 anni tra i Frati Minori Conventuali.
Passò per vari conventi: Aversa, Maddaloni, Lapio, Amalfi, Ischia, Nocera
Inferiore (qui fu maestro dei novizi), Sorrento, Napoli e infine Ravello, dove
morì il 26 ottobre 1711, per le conseguenze di una cancrena a una gamba. Fu un
esempio di umiltà e, pur non essendo dotto, colpiva anche per la profondità
teologica della sua predicazione. A lui sono attribuiti numerosi prodigi: vide
l’anima della sorella salire in cielo, guarì un lebbroso, si elevava da terra
mentre pregava. La sua carità verso gli appestati fu estrema, come la sua
ubbidienza verso i superiori. È stato beatificato da papa Pio VI il 26 novembre
1775. La sua memoria liturgica, per l’Ordine dei Frati Minori Conventuali e la
diocesi di Amalfi-Cava dei Tirreni, sotto cui cade Ravello dal 1818, ricorre il
26 ottobre, giorno della sua nascita al Cielo. I suoi resti mortali sono
venerati nella chiesa di San Francesco a Ravello, esposti in un’urna sotto
l’altare maggiore.
Martirologio
Romano: A Ravello presso Amalfi in Campania, beato Bonaventura da Potenza,
sacerdote dell’Ordine dei Frati Minori Conventuali, che rifulse per obbedienza
e carità verso tutti.
Antonio Carlo Gerardo Lavanca nacque a Potenza il 4 gennaio 1651, da Lelio Lavanga e Caterina Pica; fu battezzato lo stesso giorno della nascita. In giovanissima età ebbe occasione di conoscere i Frati Minori Conventuali e sentì la chiamata di Dio ad assumere il loro stile di vita, povero per scelta, improntato all’ubbidienza ai superiori e all’abnegazione.
A quindici anni, dunque, iniziò il noviziato nel convento di Nocera Inferiore, cambiando nome in fra’ Bonaventura da Potenza. Fu poi inviato ad Aversa e a Maddaloni per approfondire gli studi in vista del sacerdozio. Lì, però, l’ambiente era dissimile da quello iniziale potentino, che l’aveva affascinato nella sua spontanea povertà.
A causa del disagio interiore che provava, fu trasferito prima a Lapio in
Irpinia, poi ad Amalfi. In quest’ultimo convento incontrò un suo conterraneo,
padre Domenico Girardelli da Muro Lucano, il quale divenne la sua guida
spirituale. Così imparò a moderare il suo spirito: da ribelle e scalpitante,
divenne ubbidiente ed esecutore entusiasta di ogni parola di Dio attraverso i
suoi vicari, ossia i superiori.
Nel convento amalfitano cominciarono a verificarsi episodi quasi miracolosi che
testimoniavano la completa fiducia in chi gli comandava qualcosa, anche la più
assurda. Tale semplicità d’animo gli meritò la gioia di diventare sacerdote,
nel 1675.
Rimase ad Amalfi otto anni, vivendo in una simbiosi stupenda e spirituale con l’ormai vecchio frate Domenico Girardelli. Quando fu destinato a Napoli, si lasciarono in lacrime, con il presentimento di non rivedersi più.
Da Napoli passò a Ischia, quindi a Sorrento. In tutte queste destinazioni, si distinse come un esempio vivente della povertà francescana più stretta, edificando i confratelli con la sua vita dedita tutta all’ubbidienza. Era infatti solito dire: «Signore, sono un servo inutile nelle tue mani».
Fu in seguito incaricato di formare i nuovi frati nel Noviziato di Nocera Inferiore, dove fu maestro di un rigore di vita aspro e impegnativo, con una stima profonda della povertà, auspicando un ritorno alle origini del francescanesimo.
Spesso padre Bonaventura comunicava in anticipo alle persone che conosceva, anche vescovi, nobili e confratelli, fatti che poi puntualmente si avveravano. Ad esempio, mentre era in viaggio per raggiungere Potenza, dove sua sorella era in fin di vita, vide l’anima di lei volare al cielo, così da poter tornare indietro.
Ancora, come san Francesco, abbracciò un lebbroso: questi guarì all’istante. A Ischia rimase nove anni, disseminando il suo cammino di ulteriori prodigi. Quando dovette imbarcarsi per una nuova destinazione, il popolo ischitano si raccolse tutto sulla spiaggia a salutarlo.
Nel convento di Sant’Antonio a Porta Medina, a Napoli, fu visto elevarsi da terra mentre pregava. Non aveva il dottorato in Teologia, ma la sua predicazione era così profonda da lasciare interdetti i suoi dotti confratelli di San Lorenzo Maggiore, la principale comunità francescana conventuale della città.
La peste a Napoli, scoppiata nel XVII secolo, lo vide in primo piano nell’assistenza personale degli appestati. Lui stesso si ammalò, ma per altre ragioni: una gamba gli andò in cancrena e, per questo, dovette subire un’operazione chirurgica.
All’inizio del 1710, ormai vecchio e malato, fu destinato al convento di Ravello. Dato che non poteva scendere fra gli abitanti, erano loro che a frotte salivano al convento per ricevere conforto, attratti dagli innumerevoli prodigi che operava. Padre Bonaventura morì nel convento di San Francesco a Ravello il 26 ottobre del 1711, fra il pianto popolare e con il suono delle campane sciolte in un concerto di gloria.
Fu dichiarato Beato da papa Pio VI il 26 novembre 1775. La sua memoria liturgica, per l’Ordine dei Frati Minori Conventuali e la diocesi di Amalfi-Cava dei Tirreni, sotto cui cade Ravello dal 1818, ricorre il 26 ottobre, giorno della sua nascita al Cielo. I suoi resti mortali sono venerati nella chiesa di San Francesco a Ravello, esposti in un’urna sotto l’altare maggiore.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli ed Emilia Flocchini
SOURCE : https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90366
Den salige Bonaventura av
Potenza (1651-1711)
Minnedag:
26. oktober
Den salige Bonaventura
ble født som Antonius Karl Gerhard Lavanga (it: Antonio Carlo Gerardo) den 4.
januar 1651 i Potenza i Lucania i Sør-Italia – det daværende kongeriket Napoli.
Hans foreldre var Lelio Lavagna og Caterina Pica. Han sluttet seg som 15-åring
til fransiskanernes konventual-gren (Ordo Fratrum Minorum Conventualium –
OFMConv) i Nocera Inferiore med ordensnavnet Bonaventura. Han ble kjent for sin
strenge lydighet mot regelen, og det finnes temmelig søkte beretninger om hva
han er sagt å ha gjort av lydighet, og noen av de hendelsene ble senere hevdet
var mirakler.
Han arbeidet hele livet
som misjonær i kongedømmet Napoli i Sør-Italia, hovedsakelig i Amalfi. Han
bodde i klostrene i Aversa, Maddaloni, Amalfi, Ischia, Nocera Inferiore,
Sorrento, Napoli og til slutt i Ravello. Han tilbrakte åtte år i Amalfi, og
disse var de mest fruktbare i hans karriere, både når det gjaldt hans egen
åndelige utvikling og i hans pastorale arbeid blant de lokale menneskene,
inkludert utdannelsen av de unge. Han ble foreslått som guardian (superior) ved
en rekke anledninger, men hans ydmykhet gjorde at han ba seg fritatt fra alle
lederstillinger, og dermed var embetet som novisemester i Nocera Inferiore det
eneste han innehadde.
Han var spesielt hengiven
til Jomfru
Marias uplettede Unnfangelse og uttrykte ofte ønske om å kunne ha
evnene til den salige middelalderteologen Johannes Duns Scotus for
å kunne være i stand til å forsvare doktrinen mot dem som satte spørsmålstegn
ved den.
Bonaventura døde den 26.
oktober 1711 i Ravello, i en ekstase mens han sang salmer og med Marias navn på
leppene. Han ble saligkåret den 26. november 1775 (dokumentet (Breve) var
datert den 19. november) av pave Pius VI (1775-99). Hans minnedag er dødsdagen
26. oktober.
Bonaventura er en av de
helgenene og hellige mennesker i området rundt Napoli som er kjent for det
faktum at deres blod ble flytende etter deres død. Det finnes en makaber
historie hvordan den lokale generalvikaren lenge etter at Bonaventura var død
ga ordre til en kirurg om å tappe noe blod fra Bonaventuras arm. For å kunne
gjøre dette, ga generalvikaren den døde mannen ordre om å løfte armen, og av
lydighet gjorde Bonaventura det. Da historien kom ut, skapte den naturlig nok
sensasjon og økte det rykte han allerede hadde for hellighet. Det synes nå, i
følge bevisene som er samlet og analysert av Bollandistene, at Bonaventura
trolig fortsatt var i live da kirurgen tappet blodet av ham. Det er verdt å
merke seg at byen Ravello, hvor Bonaventura døde, er stedet hvor man hvert år
kan se hvordan blodet til den hellige Pantaleon blir
flytende.
Kilder:
Attwater/Cumming, Butler (X), Benedictines, Index99, KIR, Patron Saints SQPN,
Infocatho, santiebeati.it - Kompilasjon og oversettelse: p. Per Einar Odden -
Opprettet: 2000-06-14 13:43 - Sist oppdatert: 2006-06-17 23:01
Linken er kopiert til
utklippstavlen!
SOURCE : https://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/bpotenza