In Memoriam Philotheus Boehner, O. F. M. 1901-1955

Abstract

IN MEMORIAM PHILOTHEUS BOEHNER, 0. F. M. 1901-1955 VlTTith a deep sorrow and a sense of irreplaceable loss, the members " of the Franciscan Institute announce the passing of their co-founder and first Director, Rev. Fr. Philotheus Boehner, O. F. M. Coronary thrombosis ended the earthly life of Fr. Philotheus shortly after midnight , Sunday, May 22, 1955, terminating a great scholarly career. Heinrich Boehner was born February 17, 1901, in Lichtenau, Westfalia . He entered the Franciscan Order in 1920, becoming a member of what is now Holy Cross (Saxonia) Province in Germany, and receiving the name Philotheus. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1927. At the time of his ordination he was so ill with tuberculosis that his life was despaired of. However, it was precisely during the long months of rest as a sick man that he began his career as a medieval scholar, for it was then that he translated E. Gilson's work on Saint Bonaventure, and despite many difficulties had the translation published under the title Der heilige Bonaventura, Hellerau, 1929. Against all expectations Fr. Philotheus completely recovered his health and was sent to the University of Münster (1929—1933) to work for the doctorate in biology. During this time he completed the translation of another book of Gilson's, Introduction à l'étude de St. Augustin, under the title: Der heilige Augustin, Eine Einführung in seine Lehre, Hellerau, 1930. In 1933 Fr. Philotheus received the doctor's degree and published his dissertation, Über die thermonastischen Blütenbewegungen bei der Tulpe, in Zeitschrift der Botanik, 26 (1933) 65—107. Although later it was philosophy that absorbed most of his time, he kept up his interest in botany and was becoming well known in the United States as a bryologist. His collection of mosses, gathered in the vicinity of Cattaraugus County, New York, and his articles in Saint Bonaventure's Science Studies, are noteworthy contributions to bryology . Occasionally he lectured in botany for the biology department at Saint Bonaventure University. 8 Franciscan Studies??? 102In Memoriam From 1933 to 1939 he was lector of Philosophy for his province, and spent some time in such centers of scholarly activity as Quaracchi, Rome, and Paris. In 1936 he completed the translation of a third book of Gilson's, under the title of Die Mystik des heiligen Bernhard von Clairvaux, Wittlich, 1936. These translations naturally brought about a close friendship between Fr. Philotheus and Professor Gilson, and eventually resulted in their collaboration on Die Geschichte der christlichen Philosophie, published in Paderborn, 1937. In 1954 this work appeared in its third edition under the title Christliche Philosophie von ihren Anfängen bis Nikolaus von Cues. Early in 1939 Fr. Philotheus was invited by Professor Gilson to lecture in palaeography at the Pontifical Institute in Toronto. When World War II broke out in September, 1939, his friends advised him to leave Canada. At the same time Fr. Thomas Plassmann, O. F. M., then president of Saint Bonaventure College, invited him to give lectures in Franciscan philosophy, and in the summer of 1940 Fr. Philotheus began the work that led to the founding of the Franciscan Institute. From that time on he remained at Saint Bonaventure, gradually building up the Institute into a centre of international Franciscan scholarship. In 1948 the Institute was formally established as a Studium Generale in virtue of the approval of its statutes by the Definitorium Generale in Rome (November 15, 1948), and it was primarily because of the Institute that Saint Bonaventure College was raised to status of University in 1951. Fr. Philotheus was an excellent lecturer in logic, in the philosophy of Saint Augustine and Saint Bonaventure, in epistemology, and especially in the philosophy of William Ockham. His penetrating and challenging observations, his sure grasp of the subject under discussion, and above all his placid and subtly humorous presentation of disconcerting facts gave his lectures a distinction and charm that never failed to impress those who had the ability to follow them. It is interesting to note that one of his first students is the now famous Trappist-author Thomas Merton. Fr. Philotheus was known primarily, however, through his writings. He contributed numerous articles to...