:''"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 (; abbreviation: OSM), is one of the five original mendicant orders in the Roman Catholic Church. It includes several branches of friars (priests and brothers), contemplative nu ...

.'' Bonfilius (c. 1040 – c. 1115) was an Italian

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

, 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. History The oldest archaeological evide ...

, close to Ancona, and entered the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

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 Jesi () is a ''comune'' (municipa ...

, as a

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

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

scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

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 () 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 Perugia-Città della Pieve. H ...

. 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 travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

. On the way to the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

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

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

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 Chr ...

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. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of I ...

. 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 Church, Catholic Priesthood in the Catholic Church, priest and the founder of the Sylvestrines, Silvestrini. He served as a Canon (priest), canon in Osimo but respectful re ...

, the founder of the

Sylvestrines The Sylvestrines are a Religious congregation, 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 ...

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

Cingoli Cathedral Cingoli Cathedral () is a Baroque Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in the town of Cingoli, province of Macerata, region of Marche, Italy. It stands on the central piazza opposite the town hall. Formerly the ...

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 does n ...

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 1115 deaths