Another bishop murdered?

Oddly enough, the day after an Italian-born bishop is shot to death in Kenya, we celebrate the memorial of another Italian-born bishop who may have been poisoned to death in France.

This other bishop had been at the center of several conflicts. Some of these conflicts involved his religious order: with different factions within the order and enemies of the order outside it. His death came in the midst of a major meeting of church leaders, in which he took a leading role in seeking to heal deep divisions within the Church.

His life, however, was not defined by these battles. He was a powerful and prolific theologian. He also had great friends within the Church, within academia, and within government. He was the friend and mentor of Popes. One of his closest friends in academia was Thomas Aquinas. He was also close to the King of France: St. Louis.

St. Bonaventure, bishop of Albano, former Minister General of the Franciscans, known as the Seraphic Doctor, died suddenly and mysteriously on this very day in 1274 during the Fourth Council of Lyons.