The school is the most prominent Franciscan institution of undergraduate
higher education in the English-speaking world, all others being junior colleges or minor four-year schools. The friars at the
St. Bonaventure Friary belong to the Holy Name Province, OFM. Franciscan brothers at the school are members of the Order of Friars Minor, the 'original' Franciscan order, as
opposed to the many other orders of Franciscan brothers.The Bonaventure friars are involved in a number of activities in the greater Olean community, besides ministry on campus. They
administer St. Bonaventure's Parish in Allegany, called "Little Bona's". There is a strong Franciscan presence at Olean General
Hospital, and the university operates the area soup kitchen. Also adjacent to campus is the Motherhouse of the Franciscan
Sisters of Allegany, a group of sisters religious and part of the Order of
Saint Francis (OSF) or "Poor Clares".St. Bonaventure himself (1221-74), born John of Fidenza, was a
cardinal and Doctor of the Church. A theologian and contemporary of St. Thomas Aquinas at the university in Paris, he became head of the Franciscan order and did much to
institutionalize that order. His most famous work is
Itinerarium mentis in deum, or
The Soul's Journey to God.
Bonaventure was canonized in 1482 by Sixtus IV.