:''"Saint Bonfilius" can also refer to Buonfiglio dei Monaldi, one of the founders of the

Servite Order The Servite Order, officially known as the Order of Servants of Mary ( la, Ordo Servorum Beatae Mariae Virginis; abbreviation: OSM), is one of the five original Catholic mendicant orders. It includes several branches of friars (priests and brothe ...

.'' Bonfilius (c. 1040 – c. 1125) was an Italian

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

, monk and bishop. He was born in

Osimo Osimo is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche region of Italy, in the province of Ancona. The municipality covers a hilly area located approximately south of the port city of Ancona and the Adriatic Sea. , Osimo had a total population of 35,037. ...

, close to Ancona, and entered the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery of Santa Maria di Storaco, close to

Filottrano Filottrano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ancona in the Italian region Marche, located about southwest of Ancona. Filottrano borders the following municipalities: Appignano, Cingoli, Jesi, Montefano, Osimo, Santa Maria Nuova. ...

, as a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

. There, although being the youngest of the monastery, he was known as the most knowledgable in

scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...

in the congregation and was elected abbot of the monastery."Saint Bonfils", Nominis
/ref> Between 1072 and 1078, he was elected

bishop of Foligno The Diocese of Foligno ( la, Dioecesis Fulginatensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Umbria, Italy. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of P ...

. Bonfilius made a donation to the canons of the church of Folignano in 1078 and was encouraging Mainardo in the foundation of the abbey of Sassovivo in 1080. In 1096 he fulfilled his wish to go to the Holy Land and joined the forces of the First Crusade on

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

. On the way to the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

, his companions that he had come with died one by one and he reached

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

by himself. There, he lift as a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

until 1104 when he returned to Italy. As in the meantime the vacant position of bishop in Foligno had been filled by a certain Andreas, he returned to the abbey of Storaco before spending his last years again as a hermit at St Maria of la Far near

Cingoli Cingoli is a town and ''comune'' of the Marches, Italy, in the province of Macerata, about by road from the town of Macerata. It is the birthplace of Pope Pius VIII. History The town occupies the site of the ancient ''Cingulum'', a town of Picen ...

. Bonfilius died here a natural death on the 27th of September 1115. His first biographer was St.

Sylvester Gozzolini Silvestro Guzzolini (1177 – 26 November 1267) was an Italian Catholic priest and the founder of the Silvestrini. He served as a canon in Osimo but respectful rebukes of his bishop's inappropriate conduct led him to leave for a hermitage bef ...

, the founder of the

Sylvestrines The Sylvestrines are a congregation of monks of the Order of St Benedict who form the Sylvestrine Congregation. The Sylvestrines use the post-nominal initials O.S.B. Silv.. The congregation was founded in 1231 by Sylvester Gozzolini. They are mem ...

, who was inspired by Bonfilius' life. His remains were later burried in the

Cingoli Cathedral Cingoli Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Cingoli; Duomo di Cingoli; Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) is a Baroque Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in the town of Cingoli, province of Macerata, region of Marc ...

and his

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

is celebrated in Cingoli on 28 January and in Osimo on 27 September.

References

External links

catholic.org
St. Bonfilius

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonfilius Italian Roman Catholic saints Bishops of Foligno Italian Benedictines 12th-century Christian saints 12th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops 1040s births 1125 deaths