Giovanni Bona

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Cardinal Bona

Giovanni Bona SOCist (born October 10, 1609 , according to some on October 12 or 19, 1609, in Mondovì in Piedmont ; † October 28, 1674 in Rome ) was a Cistercian of the Italian Feuillanten Congregation, a pioneer of modern liturgical science , spiritual writer and Cardinal .

Live and act

Giovanni Bona ( Latin Ioannes Bona ) came from a Piedmontese-French family. His father, a professional soldier in a managerial position, had planned a military career for him. But after visiting the Jesuit College of Mondovì in 1625, Giovanni Bona entered the monastery of Santa Maria de Pignerol of the Cistercian Feuillanten Congregation , which he knew from their place of residence near Mondovì. He received his monastic and theological training here in Pinerolo , in Asti and Rome. In 1633 he was ordained a priest , and from 1636 he taught theology in the Abbey of Madonna di Vicoforte in Mondovì. After a short tenure as Prior of Asti in 1639/40, he retired for five years to study intensively in a Feuillanten monastery in Turin . From 1645 he was again prior of Asti, from 1648 abbot of Mondovì.

Bonas cardinal coat of arms

From 1651 to 1654 and from 1657 to 1664 Bona headed the Italian Feuillanten Congregation as its Abbot General in Rome. Through his publications on liturgy, ascetics and mysticism, Bona quickly gained wide recognition among Catholic scholars. In addition to his theological education, Bona showed the pursuit of a humanist through his interest in classical literature, the history of religion, mathematics, music and poetry.

Bona enjoyed the special trust of Pope Alexander VII , who appointed him to various bodies of the Curia ( Congregation of Rites , Congregation of the Index , Congregation De Propaganda Fide , Congregation of the Inquisition ) and called on him as an advisor and spiritual companion for himself. Bona was also in close correspondence with many scholars, including the masons Luc d'Achery and Jean Mabillon and the Bollandists Godefroid Henschen and Daniel Papebroch, and supported their work by sending copies of special manuscripts from Roman libraries. As an influential member of the Board of Trustees, he advocated a gentle and fair assessment of authors suspected of heresy on several occasions . Personally pious and generous to the poor, he himself lived an unpretentious lifestyle. Pope Clement IX made Abbot Bona cardinal on November 29, 1669. In May 1670 Bona was installed as cardinal priest of the titular church of San Bernardo alle Terme , of which he became the first title holder. This titular church, which had been the spiritual center of the Italian Feuillanten congregation for decades, he had thoroughly restored and partially refurbished. He found his grave in this church after his death in 1674.

Cardinal Bona participated in the conclave 1669-1670 , which Clement X. elected.

Works

To the liturgy

Bona's treatise De divina psalmodia (Paris 1663) impresses with the abundance of literature references and the comprehensive presentation of the history of the liturgy of the hours. This early work by Bona still suffers from the inconsistent conception with many ascetic excursions, personal comments and poetic explanations. Quotation about sacred ceremonies: “that they lift up the spirit to the appreciation of sanctuary, speak deeply to the mind, nourish piety, kindle love, give rise to faith, strengthen devotion, instruct the simple, spice up worship, religion adorn and distinguish the true Christians from the after-Christians. " (Cardinal Johannes Bona, Psalmod. Cap 19 §3 n.1., Antwerpiae 1739)

With the liturgical-ascetic tract De sacrificio Missae (Rome 1668), Bona gives his contemporary priests a book of edification, which is intended to serve as a guide for celebrating the Eucharist as consciously and fruitfully as possible. It appeared in many editions well into the 20th century.

Bona's main work is his Rerum liturgicarum libri duo (Rome 1671). With this publication he created the first comprehensive complete work on the history of the Eucharist and its parts. The abundance of source material - from biblical, early Christian, early Christian and medieval times - combined with statements by its contemporary authors made this publication a valuable reference work for several generations on the various historical developments surrounding the celebration of the Eucharist. Because Bona presents the genesis of the Eucharist so comprehensively in it, already largely without denominational polemics and already with the historical method matured through humanism, he is sometimes called a founder of modern liturgical science.

To ascetics

The Manuductio ad coelum (Rome 1658) is an ascetic treatise in which Bona encourages progress in the spiritual life with many encouragements and some strict admonitions. In it he adopts the wisdom of ancient Stoics (Seneca, Epiktet, Marcus Aurelius), but above all spiritual ideas from the Christian tradition. During Bona's lifetime, this work was reprinted over 15 years, which were followed by many more into the 20th century. Because of its simple style, direct address and edifying content, this publication has been compared time and again with the imitation of Christ by Thomas von Kempen .

The Principia vitae christianae (Rome 1674) also identify Bona as a teacher of ascetic edification literature. This publication is heavily influenced by the Doctor of the Church, Augustine.

The Cursus vitae spiritualis (Rome 1674) goes back to an early work by Bona, which shortly after Bona's death his brother Carlo Giuseppe Morozzo edited it under his own name. It consists of a scholastic ascetic treatise that describes in detail the spiritual stages of purification, enlightenment and union.

The Horologium asceticum (Paris 1676), also published posthumously, is a spiritual timetable in which Bona gives a lot of advice on how to organize a Christian-spiritual day.

To mysticism

In his Via Compendii (Rome 1657), Bona sums up the mystical experiences as they are described by Christian authors of the tradition and of his time. Particularly intense he is dedicated to the Aspirationsgebeten (adspirationes), that is the personal prayer words, similar to the shock prayers but a wide sweep and detail express require a very direct contact with God, while the desire to God.

The De discretione spirituum liber unus (Rome 1672) is a comprehensive compendium with many source citations on the subject of the distinction between spirits. Bona wrote it primarily as a manual for confessors and spiritual guides. He wanted to give them a help with which they can classify the spiritual experiences of the people.

Other published works

In addition, after Bona's death (1674), his spiritual testament (Florence 1675), his warning and consolation De praeparatione ad mortem (Palestrina 1731), his exercise book Phoenix redivivus (Paris 1847) and his Florilegium Hortus caelestium deliciarum (Rome 1918) were published.

literature

  • Luca Bertolotto: Ioannis Bona Card. SRE Eminentissimi Vita. Victorium de Zangrandis, Asti 1677.
  • Andrea Ighina: Il cardinale Giovanni Bona. Vita ed opere. Giuseppe Bianco, Mondovì 1874.
  • Marco Vattasso: Hortus Caelestium Deliciarum a D. Ioanne Bona e Monte Regali. Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana, Rome 1918 ( Studi e Testi 32, ZDB -ID 762276-4 ).
  • H. Dumaine: Bona (Jean). In: Dictionnaire d'Archéologie Chrétienne et de Liturgie. Vol. 2, 1, B. Librairie Letouzey et Ane, Paris 1925, col. 992-1002.
  • Lucien Ceyssens: Le Cardinal Jean Bona et le jansénisme. Autour d'une récente étude. In: Benedictina. 10, 1956, ISSN  0392-0356 , pp. 79-119, 267-327.
  • Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz :  Bona, Giovanni. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1 , Sp. 678-679.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
  • Pius Maurer: Cardinal Giovanni Bona. Cistercian, spiritual writer and pioneer of liturgical science. In: Analecta Cisterciensia . 59, 2009, pp. 3-166.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Joseph Marzohl and Joseph Schneller, Liturgica sacra, Lucerne 1837, p. III
personal data
SURNAME Bona, Giovanni
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bona, Ioannes (Latin)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian cardinal and liturgical scholar
DATE OF BIRTH October 10, 1609
PLACE OF BIRTH Mondovì
DATE OF DEATH October 28, 1674
Place of death Rome