Bonaventure (1217-1274)
Place of Birth: Tuscany, Italy
Description: A Catholic scholastic and mystic; a close friend of Thomas Aquinas but opposed to Aristotle; called the “Seraphic Doctor”
Notable Teachings: Viewed Christian enlightenment as superior to human wisdom; his book, The Tree of Life, presents Christ as the tree of life, whose virtues are a model for Christians; his writings center on Christ and are full of Scriptures and the writings of the early church fathers; rejected doctrine of immaculate conception
Writings: The Soul's Journey into God; The Tree of Life; The Life of St. Francis, New York: Paulist Press, 1978.
