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Bonaventure Hammer
1842–1917
A German-born Franciscan priest who spent most of his life in the United States, he wrote practical Catholic devotional books and contributed to the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia. His work reflects both a pastor’s voice and a historian’s interest in the growth of the Church in America.
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About the author
Born in Dürmersheim, Baden, on June 23, 1842, he came to the United States as a small child when his family settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He joined the Franciscan order in Cincinnati in 1860 and was ordained a Catholic priest in 1865.
He became known as a German-American Franciscan writer whose books were aimed at everyday religious life, including prayer, retreats, and Catholic devotions. He also wrote about the history of Franciscans and the Catholic Church in the United States, and he contributed articles to the Catholic Encyclopedia.
Hammer died on January 19, 1917, in Lafayette, Indiana. Today he is remembered less as a literary celebrity than as a hardworking priest-author whose books helped explain Catholic belief and practice to ordinary readers.