Francis Bonnici (July 14, 1853 – December 24, 1905) was a Maltese educationist,

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

and a minor

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

. In philosophy he mostly specialised in

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

Life

Bonnici was born in Cospicua,

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, on July 14, 1853. However, when still very young, his family moved to Mqabba. He graduated as Doctor of

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

from the

University of Malta The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association ...

in 1872 and was ordained priest in 1876. He taught languages for many years at the bishop’s major seminary at

Mdina Mdina ( mt, L-Imdina ; phn, 𐤌𐤋𐤈, Maleṭ; grc, Μελίττη, Melite (ancient city), Melíttē; ar, مدينة, Madīnah; ), also known by its Italian-language titles ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortifications of Mdin ...

, and was Rector at the bishop’s minor seminary at

Floriana Floriana ( mt, Il-Furjana or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a fortified town in the South Eastern Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014. Floriana i ...

. He was nominated a canon of the bishop’s cathedral chapter in 1882. Throughout the years, Bonnici endeavoured to create institutions of Christian charity. In 1884 he founded a popular educational itinerary mission for children, and in 1888 he began a shelter for homeless boys at Ħamrun, where it also had a small printing press for educational purposes. Bonnici further founded a congregation of Brothers of Charity to keep up his work at the shelter. Moreover, he also founded a crèche for homeless babies. Despite his hard and wide pastoral work, Bonnici engaged himself in serious study, both of theology and philosophy. In 1890 he was appointed Professor of the Chair of Philosophy at the

, an office he held for ten years, up till 1900. During the last two years of his life, he was very ill, having spent all his energies in indefatigable work. He was only fifty-three years of age when he died on December 24, 1905. Though he was buried at the Mdina cathedral, his body was later transferred to the Boys’ Shelter in Ħamrun.

Works

Bonnici’s philosophical writings do not seem to be many. Nevertheless, one composition stands out from the rest. It is his 1893 pamphlet ''La Pedagogia e la Filosofia'' (Pedagogy and Philosophy), printed at his own printing press in Ħamrun by his homeless boys (Tipografia della Casa di S. Giuseppe). The work is in Italian, and is made up of 22 pages. The writing has no divisions or parts. In fact, it is an address which Bonnici delivered at the Malta National Library in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

on October 2, 1893, on the occasion of the opening of the academic year 1893/94 for public schools. Bonnici dedicated the work to his parents and teachers. In it he deals with the relation between the philosophy of education and the theory of education (

). Bonnici sustains his views with philosophical arguments and submits to the idea that education is the root to all progress.

References

Sources

* * Michael Schiavone, ''Dictionary of Maltese Biographies'', PIN Publications, Vol. I, pp. 246–247. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnici, Francis 19th-century Maltese philosophers Maltese educational theorists University of Malta alumni 19th-century Maltese Roman Catholic priests 1853 births 1905 deaths People from Cospicua Academic staff of the University of Malta