By Rachel Konieczny
Co-Photo Editor
Transitus of St. Francis of Assisi participants had less time than usual to prepare for the annual campus celebration this year.
Timothy Walter, freshman philosophy major and Transitus narrator, said participants in previous years had several weeks to prepare for the event.
“Time was so crunched that we pulled it together in one single week, and I am very proud of that fact,” Walter said.
On Monday, the St. Bonaventure community gathered to celebrate the way St. Francis of Assisi accepted and entered into his death, said Fr. Ross Chamberland, O.F.M., and organizer of Transitus.
Chamberland said every chair in the University Chapel was filled, including extra seats set up in the chapel lobby. He praised the narrators, music ministry team, student volunteers, hospitality team and the Franciscan Friars and Sisters for Transitus’ turnout.
“I was profoundly impacted by the commitment of the students,” Chamberland said. “I would further like to express my appreciation to the Franciscan friars and sisters, who so generously shared the celebration of the Transitus with the entire campus and local community.”
Walter, who began the narration by welcoming the audience, said Transitus is a powerful storyline.
“Transitus gives witness to the saint who glorified God no matter the circumstances,” Walter said. “By the end of his life, Francis was malnourished, weak and basically blind, and yet he still looked upon the world with love.”
Chamberland said death in the Middle Ages, during the time of Francis, was often brutal and scary.
“Francis called death his ‘Sister’ whose ‘loving embrace no living thing can escape.’ That perspective on death is hard enough for us to accept today—never mind in Francis’ day,” Chamberland said.
Chamberland said Transitus began when Br. Basil Valente, O.F.M., and Br. David Haack, O.F.M., transcribed the historical accounts of Francis’ death into a scripted ritual for students to narrate.
Chamberland said Monday evening was deeply spiritual and helped him recognize the power of Bonaventure’s Catholic and Franciscan mission.
“We have something to offer that the community recognizes and responds to,” Chamberland said. “We must not be lukewarm in our commitment to sharing that mission.”
Walter said Francis is perceived today as a loving figure.
“He is seen as a man of perseverance and of a great love. I think people also see him as an example of someone who’s faith could take him through any struggle.”
koniecrc14@bonaventure.edu
