Father Joseph Butler was President of St. Bonaventure's College and Seminary from 1887-1911.  He was the president of the during the first great fire, and as president his main goals were to build a greater and more perfect university.  The statue was the idea of Father Thomas Plassmann, who thought it would be a fitting way to honor Fr. Joe, and he conducted a fundraising campaign to pay for it.  It was unveiled on commencement day, June 15, 1921 by Rev. Francis J. Tief, Bishop of Concordia, Kansas.  The statue took three years to complete.  

The statue shows three figures; the Franciscan Fr. Joe Butler, standing in between two youths.  One of these boys is a seminarian dressed in Cassock and Biretta, and holding a book of moral theology, while the other is a young barefoot boy wearing a baseball uniform and staring up at Fr. Joe's face.  This statue represents the two facets of life here at St. Bonaventure, and all of the young students who Fr. Joe cared for.

The preparatory school student to the right of Fr. Joe was based on Edward D. Flaherty. The seminarian was probably Joseph A. Harty.