Bonaventura Božić

Bonaventura Božić (c. 1693 – 29 December 1761) was a Croatian military writer and translator.

Life as a military chaplain Born in Kijevo, southeast of Knin, around 1693, Bonaventura Božić most likely came from a family who immigrated from Čvrljevo. Following his theological and philosophical education, he taught philosophy and artes liberales in Poland and Russia from 1723 until 1726. Then, in October 1726, the Franciscan Order general appointed him as a military chaplain to the Italian regiment in the Austrian army, under the command of Field Marshal F. Marulli, and as a missionary within the Kingdom of Hungary.

Fra Bonaventura left his designated ministry in 1727 and went back to his home province of Dalmatia, which was then ruled by the Republic of Venice. As a result, Bonaventura Božić began serving as a preacher in the coastal areas and a lector of morals in Knin in May 1731. Nonetheless, during the 17th century, a number of Božić family members from Zagora were also documented as having distinguished themselves in the battles against the Ottomans during the Cretan War (1645–1669) and Morean War (1684–1699), such as: Jure Božić (who in 1686 captured some member of the renowned Hasan-aga Arapović family), Pavao Božić (who participated in the liberation of Herceg-Novi in 1687), Marko Božić, Mihovil Božić and Grgur Božić (during the siege of Candia 1648-1669). According to the 18th-century Croatian poet Andrija Kačić Miošić, they were from the village of Zvečanje in Poljica, which is approximately 30 miles southeast from Čvrljevo. This family also includes Mihovil Božić (c. 1721–1795), a glagolitic priest and director of the seminary in Priko (Omiš).