St. Bonaventure - Allegany, NY - Statues of Religious Figures on Waymarking.com

Saint Bonaventure, known as "the seraphic doctor," was born at Bagnorea in Tuscany, in 1221. He received the name of Bonaventure in consequence of an exclamation of St. Francis of Assisi, when, in response to the pleading of the child's mother, the saint prayed for John's recovery from a dangerous illness, and, foreseeing the future greatness of the little John, cried out "O Buona ventura"-O good fortune!

At the age of twenty-two St. Bonaventure entered the Franciscan Order and at the age of thirty-five he was chosen General of his Order and restored a perfect calm where peace had been disturbed by internal dissensions. He did much for his Order and composed The Life of St. Francis . He also assisted at the translation of the relics of St. Anthony of Padua. He was nominated Archbishop of York by Pope Clement IV, but he begged not to be forced to accept that dignity. Gregory X obliged him to take upon himself a greater one, that of Cardinal and Bishop of Albano, one of the six suffragan Sees of Rome. Before his death he abdicated his office of General of the Franciscan Order. He died while he was assisting at the Second Council of Lyons, on July 15, 1274.


The statue of St. Bonaventure is located in front of Devereux Hall. It is a seven foot high statue on a four foot high pedestal. The statue is made from Carrara marble.

It was placed in memory of three St. Bonaventure students who died in 1939. Clayton Tong, class of 1940, and Charles Collins, class of 1941, who died in an automobile accident, and John Korcak, class of 1943, who died from injuries sustained in a football game. The statue was donated to the university as a gift from the students and faculty in remembrance of their fallen classmates. The St. Bonaventure Student Council held fundraising drives for two years in order to raise money for the statue. In the end, the portion of the money that could not be raised was donated by the faculty and in 1940 the statue was ordered from Italy.

While the statue was ordered in 1940, and a pedestal was built and ready at that time, it did not actually arrive on campus until six years later in 1946.

A bronze plaque on the pedestal reads:

In Memoriam
Clayton L. Tong
Charles Collins
John Korcak
By
Faculty and Student body
St. Bonaventure College
1940

The Statue was unveiled and blessed by Father Thomas Plassmann on May 5th, 1946.

Associated Religion(s): Roman Catholic Statue Location: St. Bonaventure University Entrance Fee: Free Website: [Web Link] Artist: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Take a picture of the statue. A waymarker and/or GPSr is not required to be in the image but it doesn't hurt.

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