Bonitus (bishop)
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Saint Bonitus (623–710) was born in France and held a number of important positions including being appointed governor of
Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
in 667 and
Bishop of Auvergne The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Clermont ( Latin: ''Archidioecesis Claromontana''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Clermont'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the department of Pu ...
. He was also
chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
and
referendary Referendary is the English form of a number of administrative positions, of various rank, in chanceries and other official organizations in Europe. Pre-modern history The office of ' (plural: ', from the Latin ', "I inform") existed at the Byzan ...
in
Francia Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks du ...
. He is venerated as a saint in the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
as well as the
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
.


Life

Bonitus was born in Auvergne, France and became chancellor to
Sigebert III Sigebert III ( 630–656) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia from 633 to his death around 656. He was described as the first Merovingian '' roi fainéant'' —do-nothing king—, in effect the mayor of the palace ruling the kingdom throug ...
. the king of Austrasia; and by his zeal, religion, and justice, flourished in that kingdom under four kings. After the death of Dagobert II. Thierry III. made him governor of Marseilles and all Provence, in 680Butler, Alban. ''Lives of the Saints'', Vol. I, (1866)
/ref> He was known to be an intimate friend of Sigebert III and Genesius. His elder brother St. Avitus II. bishop of Clermont, in Auvergne, having recommended him for his successor, died in 689, and Bonitus was consecrated. He was known to have a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and is said to have experienced an apparition of her. Two years later, after having governed that see ten years, he had a scruple whether his election had been perfectly canonical; and having consulted St. Tilo, or Theau, then leading an eremitical life at Solignas, resigned his dignity. He retired for four years to the abbey of Manlieu, and after having made a pilgrimage to Rome, died of the gout at Lyons on the fifteenth of January in 710, being eighty-six years old.


References


''Catholic Online - Saint Bonitus''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonitus 623 births 706 deaths 8th-century Frankish bishops Bishops of Clermont 7th-century Frankish bishops Bishops of Valence