Tornielli, Bonaventure, Bl.
TORNIELLI, BONAVENTURE, BL.
Servite; b. Forlì, Romagna, 1412; d. Udine, March 31, 1491. He was the son of Jacques Tornielli of a noble family in Forlì. Bonaventure entered the servite order and completed his studies at Venice. He practiced severe austerities, making rapid progress in the spiritual life. He devoted himself with great success to preaching in the principal cities of Italy. In his order he held the positions of prior, provincial, and vicar-general. In 1483 when he was prior of the Convent of St. Marcel in Rome, Bonaventure decided to retire with six other religious to a hermitage. However, Pope Sixtus IV named him apostolic preacher shortly afterward, thus obliging him to continue in the apostolate. While preaching a series of Lenten sermons in the cathedral at Udine he died, on Holy Thursday. He was buried at Udine, but his body was later transferred to the Servite Church at Venice. Pope Pius X beatified him in 1911.
Feast: March 31.
Bibliography: Monumenta Servorum Sanctae Mariae, ed. p. soulier et al., 20 v. (Brussels 1897–1930) v.3. f. cornaro, Ecclesiae Venetae antiqua monumenta … illustrata …, 13 v. (Venice 1749) v.2. f. apollonio, Il beato Bonaventura Tornielli (Rome 1912). g. zinkl, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. m. buchberger, 10 v. (Freiburg 1930–38) 10:209–210. l. berra, a. mercati and a. pelzer, Dizionario ecclesiastico, 3 v. (Turin 1954–58) 1:405.
[m. b. morris]