Raymond Bonal
Raymond Bonal (* 1600 in Villefranche; † 1653 in Agde ) was a Catholic priest in France, a theologian and founded the Congregation of Saint Mary in 1637 , also known as the Bonalists, which no longer exist today.
Life
Raymond Bonal was found in Villefranche in Rouergue in 1600. He studied classical literature and philosophy with the Jesuits in Cahors . To study theology and civil and ecclesiastical law, he moved to the University of Toulouse , where he received his doctorate in theology in 1628. In 1632 he developed the idea of founding a community of priests, in whose life and work the spirit of St. Francis de Sales should be exemplified. This idea was encouraged by St. Johanna Franziska von Chantal , who, together with Francis von Sales, founded the Order of the Visitation of Mary in 1610 . She knew that Francis de Sales also wanted to found a congregation of priests, which he was unable to do because of his untimely death at the age of 55 ( 1622 ). Johanna Franziska von Chantal now saw in Raymond Bonal the priest who could realize this idea of Francis von Sales.
Bonal began a community life with two other priests in 1637 in a house near the Church of Our Lady of Mercy in Villefranche. Other priests soon joined them. In 1639 the parish of Foix, in the diocese of Pamiers, was entrusted to the community. A few years later, a seminar was opened there under the direction of Bonal. In 1650 he also set up a seminary and college in Toulouse. In 1653, after Raymond Bonal had moved to Agde to also found a seminary there, he fell victim to an epidemic.
Bonalists
The Congregation of Saint Mary was given the name Bonalists very soon after the founder's death. In 1665 , in the year of the canonization of St. Francis de Sales, they were ecclesiastically recognized by Pope Alexander VII , and in 1678 they received state recognition in France by King Louis XIV . However, it did not take long before the interest in the seminaries flagged. The number of bonalists decreased. The reason was not only a lack of young people, but also a lack of perspective as to which tasks the bonalists should take on in the church.
After a little over 100 years of existence, the Congregation of Bonalists was dissolved and its members joined the Lazarists . It was not until 1872 that the wish of St. Francis de Sales actually came true. Louis Brisson and Maria Salesia Chappuis founded the Congregation of the Oblates of St. Franz von Sales , which still exists today and is active in Europe, Africa, America and Asia.
Works
Raymond Bonal published the book "Cours de théologie morale" (Course of Moral Theology), the 8th edition of which appeared in Paris in 1685 . This course, taught in the seminaries in Toulouse, Valence, Thiers and elsewhere, was later translated into Latin by Pierre Laur (Toulouse, 1674 ) under the title "Theologia moralis R. Bonalis" (Moral Theology of R. Bonalis).
Another work by Raymond Bonal was published in Lyon in 1679 under the title "Explication litérale et mystique des rubriques" (Literal and mystical explanation of the rubrics).
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bonal, Raymond |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French clergyman, catholic priest |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1600 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Villefranche |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1653 |
| Place of death | Agde |