He was born in
Riudoms,
Catalonia, on 24 November 1620 in a modest house in the street known as a Pocket Street (
Carrer de la Butxaca in Catalan) and now has his name. After marrying at the age of 18 as his father wished, he was widowed in a few months. He entered the
Franciscan convent of
Sant Miquel d'Escornalbou and made religious profession on 14 July 1641, changing his name to Bonaventura. In the following years, he was sent to
Mora d'Ebre,
Figueres,
la Bisbal d'Empordà and
Terrassa, where another street has been named for him. In 1658 he was sent to
Rome where he founded Santo Retiro are four monasteries in the province of Rome, including
San Bonaventura al Palatino. He was an adviser to four popes:
Alexander VII,
Clement IX,
Clement X and
Innocent XI. In Rome in 1662 he founded the Riformella, a reform movement within the Reformed Order of Friars Minor of the Strict Observance, so the monks and Franciscan priests who dedicated themselves to the apostolate could gather in meditation and spiritual retreat, living the founding spirit of the Franciscan order. He died in Rome on 11 September 1684. == Veneration ==