THE CARDINALATE.
Soon after his election to the Papacy, Gregory X. decided to hold a
General Council at Lyons. He directed Bonaventure to undertake the
preparation of the various matters to be discussed. Amongst all those
who might co-operate for the success of the Council, the Pope perceived
that there was no one more capable than our Saint. His, authority was
great and his influence was widespread, In the preceding chapter we
have dwelt upon his familiar friendship with King Louis of France,
With Charles I. of Anjou he was likewise on intimate terms. After his
elevation to the Cardinalate the prince gave orders for his suitable
conveyance to the Papal Court. Another somewhat curious {98} instance
of Bonaventure's widespread influence is seen in a letter written to
him by the Secretary of Otto Carus, King of Bohemia. He asks our Saint
to intercede for him with his royal master so that he might receive
from him some office which he coveted. As General of the Franciscan
Order his power was very considerable, but it was greatly increased by
his reputation for learning and profound piety. The Order had already
spread into almost every country of the Old World. In the East and
West it possessed thirty-three Provinces and four Vicariates. It had
penetrated into Egypt, Palestine, and Syria; and was firmly
established all over Europe including the British Isles.
The supreme ruler of so vast and powerful an organization is
necessarily a noteworthy personage in the life of the Church. And it
is not to be wondered at that Gregory X. fixed his eyes upon
Bonaventure, and with a view to enhancing his authority and extending
his sphere of action determined to raise him to the cardinalate.
Accordingly, on 23 June, 1273, he made him Bishop of Albano and
Cardinal of the Roman Church. Bonaventure's secretary, Bernard of
Besse, viewing the procedure from the standpoint of the humble Friar
and with apparently little approval, refers briefly to the fact in
these words: "The aforesaid Lord Gregory X. forced him to become a
Cardinal". We can imagine how strenuously Bonaventure refused the
honour, but the Pope was inflexible and even peremptory. {99} He
commanded Bonaventure to submit to his appointment and in a spirit of
humility to place no obstacle in the way. He furthermore ordered him
to repair to the Papal Court without any unreasonable delay or
hesitation. Our Saint received the Brief at Paris and he set out at
once for Florence where the Pope happened to be residing. Having
reached the vicinity of the town he took up his abode in a small
convent of the Order. Thither came the Pope's envoys with the
Cardinal's insignia. As has already been said they found the Bishop
and Cardinal-elect washing the plates of the monastery, and tradition
has it that he ordered them to hang the hat on a branch of a tree
close by until he had finished.
After a brief stay at Florence, at the Pope's command our Saint set
out for Lyons, where the General Council was to be held. The assembly
began its sessions in May, 1274. The importance of the part which
Bonaventure played in this Council is admitted by all. His secretary
and biographer, Bernard of Besse, says: "By command of our Lord the
Pope he conducted the principal affairs of the Council". Pope Sixtus
IV. affirms that Bonaventure "presided at the Council of Lyons and
directed everything to the praise and glory of God; so that having
suppressed discords and overcome difficulties, he was a source of
honour and utility to the Church". It is, however, hardly credible
that Bonaventure really _presided_ over the Council, for {100} the
Pope himself was present. Most likely he presided over the private
sessions and prepared and directed the business to be publicly
transacted.
The union of the Greek Church with the Latin, the deliverance of the
Holy Land from Mohammedan rule, and the restoration of ecclesiastical
discipline were the chief matters discussed by the Council.
In the work of reuniting the Greek and Latin Churches the Friars Minor
played a very conspicuous part. Through them the negotiations with the
Emperor Paleologus, and the Greek Church had been carried on. Their
efforts seemed for a time to be crowned with complete success. The
Emperor sent civil and ecclesiastical representatives to the Council
of Lyons to express the adherence of himself and the entire Greek
Church to all the tenets of the Church of Rome. In presence of the
assembled Council and amid great solemnity the envoys made a public
profession of Faith, and the great Eastern schism seemed to be healed.
Unfortunately the result was of very brief duration. In the course of
a few years the Greeks had once more returned to their old condition
of schism and heresy. Still, even for this temporary success great
credit is due to Bonaventure, for to his personal influence it must in
no small degree be attributed. His learning, his eloquence, his
affability and his piety deeply impressed the Greeks. They marked
their appreciation of his great ability by bestowing on him {101} the
name of "Eutychius". He surpassed the high opinion which Pope Gregory
had formed of him. His extraordinary gifts filled the whole Council
with admiration. The facility and precision of his diction, the
prudence and moderation of his counsel, the breadth and depth of his
learning, his skill in controversy and his wonderful power of
dispatching most weighty matters made him the most prominent figure in
the whole of the assembly. At the same time, his humility and meekness
and the cheerful sweetness of his disposition won all hearts. His
words were listened to with sympathetic attention and never failed to
produce the desired effect. It is recorded that he preached twice
during the Council: first when it was officially announced that the
Greeks were sending representatives to Lyons, and, secondly, when the
reunion had been accomplished. A large number of his sermons are
extant, but amongst them is not found either of these discourses.
Whilst our gaze is fixed on Bonaventure as the central figure in that
grand assembly of the Christian Church we can read with interest the
pen-portrait of him left to us by an old chronicler. This writer,
[Footnote 43] after insisting at much length on the spiritual
endowments of the Saint, continues thus:--
[Footnote 43: Peter Rodulph, fol. 92. Cf. Wadding, Tom. IV, Anno 1274.
No. 20.]
"Such beauty of soul was matched by exterior {102} comeliness; of
imposing appearance, tall in stature, and with a certain nobility of
bearing. His features were handsome and of serious expression. His
words were calm and his conversation kind and gentle. He rarely
suffered from ill health. His disposition was more than admirable. His
appearance cannot be described other than like that of an angel sent
from Heaven, for in his day there was no one more beautiful, holier,
or more wise. Such affability and grace shone forth in his countenance
that he was to all not only an object of love but of admiration. Those
who once beheld him felt themselves drawn instinctively to admire and
venerate him as one especially designed to further the interests of
religion."
The description is evidently that of an ardent admirer of
Bonaventure, but making all due allowance for its palpable
exaggerations we are justified in believing that the personal
appearance of the Saint must have been impressive and attractive in no
ordinary degree. This seems to have been a characteristic of many of
the saints, although their biographers, imbued with the peculiar
ascetical notion that unsightliness of body is somehow necessarily
associated with beauty and excellence of soul, usually discard all
reference to bodily endowments.
In his labours at the Council our Saint was ably seconded by two other
Franciscans--Rigaldi, Archbishop of Rouen, and Paul, Bishop of
Tripolis. Their prominence and the authority they wielded {103} seem
to have excited a certain amount of jealousy among their
contemporaries. Thus we find them referred to in the following
satirical triplet:--
Bonaventure, Rouen and Tripolitane
Dispense papal laws and unmindful remain
Of their Order which scorns all honours as vain.
This suggests the question: "How can we reconcile the acceptance of
ecclesiastical dignities with the Spirit of St. Francis and the
profession of his Rule?" Many answers might be given, but I believe
the following to be the most satisfactory. The leading principle of
the Franciscan Rule is obedience to the Pope, the supreme authority in
all things spiritual. Hence, submission to what he commands cannot be
a violation of the Franciscan spirit. Like every other religious
development of human origin the Order of St. Francis is entirely
subject to the authority of the Head of the Church. He can modify it
in its constitution and in its members as circumstances may demand.
Non-Catholic writers, and even Catholics, sometimes lose sight of
this. They seem to think that the Rule of Francis possesses some
species of supreme and absolute authority which no power on earth can,
or ought to, interfere with. This assumption is utterly false. None
would have more emphatically rejected it than St. Francis himself.
Hence, when the Vicar of Christ, for the welfare of the Church, calls
upon a child of St. Francis to accept some office to {104} which
attaches dignity or honour he may humbly refuse, but a persistent and
obstinate refusal would find no justification in the profession he has
made.