BONTEMPI, GAUDENZIO DA BRESCIA. - Capuchin theologian, born in 1612, died on 25 March 1672.
Definitor and preacher, he is known above all in the history of theology for the work Palladium theologicum, seu toto theologia scholastica... ad intimam mentem divi Bonaventurae (7 folio vols., Lyons 1676), published posthumously by his disciples and dedicated to King Louis XIV. B. ranks among those Capuchin authors who represent the Bonaventurian school. In a broad and thorough exposition, he sets forth in a summa of theology, left incomplete in certain treatises because of his death, the doctrine of s. Bonaventura, whose richness and relevance he vindicates also in relation to contemporary theologians outside the Order. While emphasizing the individuality of Bonaventura’s thought, he tends rather to bring it closer to the doctrine of s. Tommaso, while displaying marked hostility toward the Scotist school. Some bibliographers also attribute to him a commentary on the catechism of s. Pietro Canisio.