Bishop John S. Bonnici was born on February 17, 1965, in New York City, to the late John
C. Bonnici and Gertrude (née Rilling) Bonnici. He has one sister.
Bishop Bonnici graduated from the Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary in
Manhattan, New York, in 1983, and chose to continue his education at Saint John’s
University in Brooklyn, New York, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in
biology and philosophy in 1987. During this time, he began to seriously discern a
priestly vocation, and he applied to be a seminarian for the Archdiocese of New York.
Bishop Bonnici began his theological studies later that year at the Pontifical North
American College in Rome, with academic studies at the Pontifical Gregorian
University, where he earned his Bachelor of Sacred Theology in 1990. He pursued his
graduate studies at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Rome where he earned his
Licentiate of Sacred Theology degree (1990-1992).
Bishop Bonnici was ordained to the sacred priesthood at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in
Manhattan on June 22, 1991, the Feast of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More, by John
Cardinal O’Connor for the Archdiocese of New York.
Upon returning from Rome to the Archdiocese of New York in 1992, Bishop Bonnici was
assigned to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Elmsford, New York, to serve as its
parochial vicar for two years until his assignment as a faculty member of Saint Joseph’s
Seminary in Yonkers, New York. Over the course of 20 years, he has served as an
adjunct professor of moral theology at Saint Joseph’s. In 1994, Bishop Bonnici was
assigned to continue his education at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Washington,
DC, where he earned the degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology in 1995.
Upon completing his studies, Bishop Bonnici became the assistant director of the
Archdiocesan Family Life/Respect Life Office, and the Office’s director the following
year. His education and pastoral experiences enabled him to author Person to Person:
Friendship and Love in the Life and Theology of Hans Urs Von Balthasar, and, together with
Monsignor Joseph Giandurco, he co-authored Partners in Life and Love: A Preparation
Handbook for the Celebration of Catholic Marriage.
New York Governor George Pataki appointed Bonnici to a seven-year term on the board
of trustees of the City University of New York in April 2002.
In 2002, Bishop Bonnici became the pastor of Saint Philip Neri Parish in the Bronx, New
York, until 2008, when he was assigned as pastor at Saint Columba Parish in Chester,
New York, serving there for the next 13 years. He also served as parochial administrator
at Saint Mary’s Parish in Washingtonville, New York, from 2020 to 2021. In 2021 he was
named pastor of Saint Augustine Parish and Saints John and Paul Parish in Larchmont,
New York.
On January 25, 2022, Pope Francis appointed Bonnici as an Auxiliary Bishop of New
York and Titular Bishop of Arindela, and he was ordained to the episcopacy at Saint
Patrick’s Cathedral by Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan on March 1, 2022, with
Auxiliary Bishops John O’Hara and Gerald Walsh serving as co-consecrators. Bishop
Bonnici close To Jesus Through Mary as his episcopal motto. After his episcopal
consecration, Bishop Bonnici continued to serve as pastor of Saint Augustine Parish and
Saints John and Paul Parish in Larchmont, while he also as the Episcopal Vicar for
Westchester and Rockland Counties as an Auxiliary Bishop.
In addition to his responsibilities in the Archdiocese of New York, Bonnici serves a
member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on the
Protection of Children and Young People and the Subcommittee on the Catechism. Since
2023, Bishop Bonnici has served on the Pontifical North American College’s Board of
Governors representing Region II. Additionally, Bishop Bonnici serves as a member of
the board of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN United States) which provides pastoral
and humanitarian assistance to the persecuted Church around the world, and as a
member of the board of The Christopher Missions Foundation which primarily assists
the Diocese of Miao, India, in establishing village churches, building parish schools,
providing clean drinking water wells, ministry to at-risk women, and economic
sustainability projects.
On January 7, 2026, Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Bonnici to succeed The Most
Reverend Salvatore R. Matano as the Tenth Bishop of Rochester. Bishop Bonnici will be
installed as the Bishop of Rochester on March 19, 2026, the Solemnity of Saint Joseph.
