The Franciscan Institute Honors Father Clément Schmitt, O.F.M.

THE FRANCISCAN INSTITUTE HONORS FATHER CLÉMENT SCHMITT, O.F.M. The Franciscan Institute awarded its medal for 2001 to Fr. Clément Schmitt. The medal was established in 1987 to honor scholars for outstanding contributions to Franciscan studies. Fr. Schmitt is the fourteenth to receive the award. The award was made July 14, on the eve of the feast of St. Bonaventure, in a ceremony in the Quick Arts Center. Fr. Michael Cusato of The Franciscan Institute was the master of ceremonies. Dr. Robert Wickenheiser, President, St. Bonaventure University, and Sr. M argaret Carney, Director, The Franciscan Institute, presented the medal. In the absence of Father Clément Schmitt, who could not make the trip, Cusato accepted it in Schmitt’s name. The ceremony was video-taped and the tape and medal were sent to Fr. Schmitt in Metz, France. Following the presentation, Fr. David Flood of The Franciscan Institute spoke about Schmitt and the A rchivum Franciscanum Historicum. Schmitt assumed responsibility for this quarterly in 1961, after assisting his predecessor (Fr. Gerold Fussenegger of the Austrian province) from 1950 on. In 1989, failing health obliged Schmitt to retire. In the presentation of the medal, Sr. Margaret Carney reviewed Schmitt’s life and labors. Born in 1917, a member of the Strasbourg Franciscan province, Schmitt did his doctoral work at the University of Strasbourg under Guillaume Mollat. His dissertation on Pope Benedict XII and the Order of Friars Minor was published in 1959 and received the Prix Bordin de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres the following year. Schmitt had readied the dissertation for publication in Quaracchi, at the Collegium Sancti Bonaventurae, which he had joined in 1950. Quaracchi was established as the research center of the Order of Friars Minor in 1877 to edit the works of St. Bonaventure. The Padri Editori di Quaracchi finished this project in 1902 and went on to edit further writings of Franciscan masters and other texts of the Middle Ages. Quaracchi belongs to the history of The Francisan Institute, for it was there, working with Father Victorin Doucet, that Father Gedeon Gal developed his natural talent for text criticism. Gal came to the Franciscan Studies, 59 (2001) 3 4 David F lo o d Institute in the late 1960s to direct the edition of Ockham’s philosophical and theological writings, a task completed in early 1988. The Collegium Sancti Bonaventurae moved from Quaracchi, five miles west of Florence, to Grottaferrata, in the Alban Hills southeast of Rome, in early 1971. It took along its name, C ollegium Sancti Bonaventurae, Padri Editori di Quaracchi. In reviewing Schmitt’s many contributions to research and publication, Sr. Margaret Carney saw fit to stress his sensitive work on the Fraticelli, the Franciscan dissidents of the fourteenth century. They have too often been described in reductionist terms, she observed, whereas they deserve the careful hearing given them by Schmitt. In making this observation, Carney had in mind the complex questions in theology and ethics of the present day. They, too, she proposed, deserve the rigorously honest treatment exemplified by Schmitt in his historical work. Sr. Margaret concluded: “And so, Father Clément, we salute you with the hope that your achievements will inspire future generations of Franciscan scholars and that our choice of you as the recipient of this medal for 2001 will bring the joy of knowing that colleagues around the world wish you peace and every good with grateful admiration.” In tracing Father Clément Schmitt’s scholarly career, David Flood also recalled the history of the A rchivum Franciscanum Historicum and Quaracchi, the instrument and the site of Schm itt’s singular contributions. The text of the lecture can be found on the Institute’s home page, linked by Franciscan Studies. Soon after Schmitt left Grottaferrata for Metz, Father Felice Accrocca published a brief text of recognition in the A rchivum. He recalled in particular Schmitt’s readiness to help young and aspiring scholars, in which class Accrocca put himself. He followed up his brief tribute by giving the bibliography of Schmitt’s publications, up to 1990. The reference: “Trentanove anni alia redazione dell ''Archivum F ranciscanum Historicum.’ P. Clément Schm...