Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 2.djvu/718

 BONA

648

BONAVENTURE

The mainspring of Cardinal de Ronald's life, how- ever, was his love of the Church, which he desired first of all to have respected. In 1825 the royal court of Paris, in rendering a verdict, implied that the whole body of clergy was disloyal to the Crown; Bonald in a dignified letter of protest to the king replied: "Were the clergj' less loyal, they would not be the object of such hatred". He also desired the freedom of the Church, and' his pastoral letter of 1846, "La liberte de I'Eglise", remains one of his best efforts. Of all the privileges essential to the Church, that of teaching seemed to him first and foremost. On several occasions he wrote either to approve or to condemn the legislation concerning schools. The royal ordinance of 1824 placing the schools under the surveillance of the bishops met with his entire approval; but the ordinances of 1828 establishing a new mode of direction for primary schools and even interfering with ecclesiastical schools for secondary education, as well as the Ville- main educational bill of 1844 and Salvandy's project of 1847, he strongly opposed, thus preparing the way for the law of 1850. Having become, by the con- stitution of 1852, and by virtue of his dignity as cardinal, a member of the French Senate, Bonald showed once more his love of the Church by tlirowing the whole weight of his mfiuence on the side of the Roman pontiff and the independence of the Holy See.

The long episcopal career of Bonald covers many successive political regimes. Although by birth and education a stanch legitimist, yet, as a bishop, he looked above the changes of human gov- ernment to the Church and her welfare. Because the Revolution of February, 1848, with its motto "Liberty, EquaUty, Fraternity", seemed to him favourable to the best interests of the Church, he was one of the first bishops to welcome it. He wrote to his priests: "Give to the faithful the example of sub- mission and obedience to the Republic. You have long cherished the hope of enjojnng the Hberty which makes our brethren of the United States so happy; that liberty you shall have." The same broadness of view he evinced when he refused to side with the Abbe Gaume on the question of the classics: "We decline to believe that the study of pagan authors has for three centuries instilled paganism into the social body."

FlSQUET, La France pontiiicate, Mctropole de Lyons (Paris); MiGNE. Orateurs sacres (Paris) XIV; Beaumont, Vie du Cardinal de Bonald (Paris. 1870) ; L'episcopat frauQais depuis le Concordat jusqit'a la Separation (Paris, 1907).

J. F. SOLLIER.

Bona Mors Confraternity, The (Happy De.\th), was founded 2 Octoljer, 1(348, in the Church of the Gesil, Rome, by Father Vincent Caraffa, seventh General of the Society of Jesus, and approved by the Sovereign Pontiffs Innocent X and Alexander VII. In 1729 it was raised to an archconfraternity and enriched with numerous indulgences by Bene- dict XIII. He authorized the Father General of the Society of Jesus, who, in virtue of his office, ■was the director, to erect Bona Mors confraternities in all churches of his order. In 1827 Leo XII gave to the director general the power to erect and affiliate branch confraternities in churches not be- longing to the Society of Jesus, and to give them a share in all the privileges and indulgences of the archconfraternity. The object of the association is to prepare its members by a well regulated life to die in peace with God. The longer title: "Con- fraternity of Our Lord Jesus Christ dying on the Cross, and of the most Blessed Virgin ilary, His sorrowful Mother", expresses the chief means to attain that end. devotion to the Passion of Christ and to the sorrows of Mary. Besides this the imion of prayers and good works of the associates and the

special instructions at the public meetings help powerfully to prepare for a happy deatli. The conditions for membership are to present oneself to the director; to express to him one's desire to become a member; to receive from him an outward sign of acceptance, usually in the form of a certificate of admission; and to have one's name registered in the local Bona Mors Register. Only "by an un- usual and extraordinary exception", says a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, "is it allowed to enroll those absent". The director is authorized to decide what constitutes such an ex- ceptional case. The practices of the association and the indulgences granted to the members are specified in the manual of the confraternity (New York, 1896). John J. Wi-nne.

Bonaparte, Ch.\rles - Lucien - Jules - L.\urent, Prince of C.\nino .\nd Musignano, ornithologist, b. in Paris, 24 May, 1803; d. in the same city 29 July, 1857. He was the eldest son of Lucien Bonaparte, the brother of Napoleon, and was educated in the uni- versities of Italy. After his marriage to his cousin Zenaide, daughter of Joseph Bonaparte, on 29 June, 1822, he came to the L'nited States where his father- in-law was residing. Wliile here he devoted himself to the study of natural science and particularly of ornithology. He undertook the completion of Wil- son's "Ornithology or History of the Birds of the LTnited States" in four volumes (Philadelphia, 1825- 33). In this work he describes more than one hundred new species discovered by himself. He also published "Observations on the Nomenclature of Wilson's Ornithology" (in the Journal of the Philadelphia .\cademy); "Sjmopsis of the Birds of the United States" (in the Annals of the Lyceum of New York), etc. He returned to Europe in 1828 and took up his residence in Rome where he continued his scientific work. Upon the death of his father, Lucien, in 1840, he became Prince of Canino and Musignano and after- wards entered the political arena, a.ssociating himself with the anti-Austrian party. He did not, however, lose interest in his favourite studies for he organized and presided over several scientific congresses in Italy. He had been attached to Pius IX, but in 1848 he joined the radical party and in the following year was elected deputy of Viterbo and Vice-President of the Assembly. After the fall of the Republic he was obliged to leave Italy (July, 1849), but his cousin, Louis-Napoleon, refused to permit him to enter France until the following year when he settled in Paris. In 1854 he became director of the Jardin des Plantes. Bonaparte had twelve children of whom eight sur- \'ived him. Among them was Lucien-Louis-Joseph- Napoleon, who was ordained priest in 1853 and was made cardinal in 1868. Bonaparte became an hon- orary' member of the Academy of Upsala in 1833, and of the Academy of Sciences of Berlin in 1843, and corresponding member of the "Institut" in 1S44. Besides his published works alreadj' referred to may be mentioned: "Specchio comparativo delle ornitho- logie di Roma e di Filadelfia" (Paris, 1827); "Icono- grafia della Fauna Italica" (Rome, 1834—41). This is his principal work and is illustrated with fine coloured plates. "Geographical and Comparative List of Birds of Europe and North America" (London, 1838); "Catalogo metodico degli ucceUi Europei" (Bologna, 1842); "Conspectus systematis ornitholo- gis" (Leyden, 1850); "Conspectus systematis ich- thyologia>" (Leyden, 1850); "Ornithologie fossile " (Paris, 1858).

Debidour in La grande encyc; Wouters, Les Bonaparte depuis 1S15; Cantu, Hist, de Vindcpendance italienne. III; Ballvdier, Hist, de la revolution de Rome de 1846-1S50.

H. M. Brock.

Bonaventure, Saint, Doctor of the Church, Cardinal-Bishop of Albano, Minister General of the