Gaspar de Bono i Manzón, O.M., (5 January 1530 – 14 July 1604) was a Spanish

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

of the Order of Minims and

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

. He is venerated as

blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...

by the Catholic Church.

Life

De Bono was born on 5 January 1530 in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, the second of the four children of Juan de Bonom (or Joan de Bonome), who had emigrated from

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...

, and his wife, Isabel Juana Manzón (or Monzon), originally from Villa de

Cervera Cervera () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Segarra, in the province of Lleida, Autonomous Community of Catalonia, Spain. The title Comte de Cervera is a courtesy title, formerly part of the Crown of Aragon, that has been revived for Leonor, ...

in the

Province of Lleida The Province of Lleida (; Aranese Occitan: Lhèida ; es, Lérida ) is one of the four provinces of Catalonia. It lies in north-eastern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Catalonia, and is bordered by the Provinces of ...

( es, Lérida). Upon his birth, he was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

at the nearby Church of San Nicolás. Having been born on the eve of the

Feast of the Epiphany Epiphany ( ), also known as Theophany in Eastern Christian traditions, is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation (theophany) of God incarnate as Jesus Christ. In Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally (but not ...

, he was named for one of the

Biblical Magi The biblical Magi from Middle Persian ''moɣ''(''mard'') from Old Persian ''magu-'' 'Zoroastrian clergyman' ( or ; singular: ), also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, also the Three Magi were distinguished foreigners in the G ...

. Although Gaspar's parents were very pious, the family was poor. His father was a linen weaver by trade, but when his mother was blinded three years after his birth and became unable to help in the family trade, the father was forced to sell their home and his tools and took work as a grinder and reseller. As a child, he developed a noticeable stammer, a problem from which he suffered his whole life. At the age of ten, De Bono began working with a silk merchant, but soon realized that his vocation was religious and began to study Latin while continuing to work to support his family. About 1545, he was admitted as a candidate to the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

, but, just as he was about to enter their

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

, he was talked out of this by a brother-in-law, after which he returned home. At age twenty, De Bono joined the army of the

Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) ...

, in search of fortune. He served as a soldier for about ten years, but continued to try and live a devout and religious life, by praying, saying the

rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

daily, donating to charity and frequenting places of worship. He fought in

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

where he was seriously wounded in the head. Left for dead, De Bono made a promise to enter the Minim friars, founded by

Francis of Paola Francis of Paola, O.M., (or: Francesco di Paola or Francis the Fire Handler; 27 March 1416 – 2 April 1507) was an Italian mendicant friar and the founder of the Roman Catholic Order of Minims. Unlike the majority of founders of men's religiou ...

, if he survived. De Bono did in fact recover, and soon entered the Minim

Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

of San Sebastián in Valencia, which was located a short distance from his family home, receiving the

religious habit A religious habit is a distinctive set of religious clothing worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anchoritic life, ...

on 16 June 1560. He professed his

religious vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhism tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of re ...

as a member of the Order on 17 June of the following year and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

as a priest in 1562. De Bono soon became known for his virtue and strict compliance with the Rule of Life of the Order. He was available to all the people of the neighborhood which he knew thoroughly. He was present to comfort his parents in their final hours, his mother dying on 29 April 1583, and his father a year later. He was soon named

Master of novices In the Roman Catholic Church, a novice master or master of novices, lat. ''Magister noviciorum'', is a member of a religious institute who is responsible for the training and government of the novitiate in that institute. In religious institutes f ...

for the Catalan

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

of the Order, being responsible for the founding of a Minim monastery in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. He was elected to serve as

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

Provincial. At the insistence of the Archbishop of Valencia,

Juan de Ribera Juan de Ribera (Seville, Spain, 20 March 1532 – Valencia, 6 January 1611) was an influential figure in 16th and 17th century Spain. Ribera held appointments as Archbishop and Viceroy of Valencia, Latin Patriarchate of Antioch, Commander in ...

(now honored as a

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 ...

), in 1602 he was elected Corrector

Provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

(regional superior) of Valencia. He is said to have remained humble and austere; retaining his devotions and customs, and continued to be noted for his prudence and charity throughout his life. De Bono died in Valencia on 14 July 1604, at the age of 74. His remains were first entombed in the Church of San Sebastián, to which the monastery was attached. After the suppression of the monastery under the Napoleonic rule of Spain, the urn containing his bones was moved in 1835 to the Church of San Nicolás, where he had been baptized as a baby, and enshrined under the altar of the Chapel of St. Raphael.

Veneration

De Bono was beatified by

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799. Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...

on 10 September 1786. His eulogy is written in the

Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved ...

for 14 July: ''At Valencia in Spain, Blessed Gaspar de Bono, a priest of the Order of Minims, who left the arms of the prince of the world for the militia of Christ the King and for the sake of the house of ' Order in the Spanish province, who ruled with prudence and charity.'' Each year, on the 14 July, small celebrations are held in De Bono's honor at the Impasse of Cañete in the Carmen neighborhood, the street where he was born.

References

External sources

Félix Puimayor y Budar. ''Compendio histórico de la vida del beato Gaspar de Bono, del Orden de Mínimos''. Valencia: por Joseph Estevan, 1787.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bono, Gaspar de 1530 births 1604 deaths People from Valencia Spanish soldiers Minims (religious order) 16th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests 17th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests Burials in Valencia Spanish beatified people