John Bonnici was born on February 17, 1965, in New York City. He is a 1983 graduate of Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary in Queens, New York. He earned his bachelor's degree in biology and philosophy at St. John's University in Brooklyn, New York, in 1987.[1]
Bonnici was ordained a priest at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan on June 22, 1991, by Cardinal John O'Connor for the Archdiocese of New York.[3] After his ordination, the archdiocese assigned Bonnici to the faculty of St Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York, for one year.[2] He was moved in 1992 to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Elmsford, New York, to serve as its parochial administrator.[2] In 1995, Bonnici left Our lady to become assistant director of the assistant director of the archdiocesan family life/respect life office; he became director the next year.[2][4]
New York Governor George Pataki appointed Bonnici to a six-year term on the board of trustees of the City University of New York in April 2002.[5] His appointment was criticized for his lack of higher education expertise and his political positions on LGBTQ rights and abortion rights for women.[6] That same year, the archdiocese moved Bonnici to St. Philip Neri Parish in The Bronx to serve as its pastor.[2]
In 2003, Bonnici was awarded a Master of Divinity degree in theology and a Master of Arts degree in theology (specializing in church history) from St. Joseph’s Seminary. He left St. Philip Neri in 2008 to serve as pastor at St. Columba in Chester, New York, working there for the next 13 years. He also served as parochial administrator at St. Mary’s Parish in Washingtonville, New York, from 2020 to 2021.[7][2]
Auxiliary Bishop of New York
On January 25, 2022, Pope Francis appointed Bonnici as an auxiliary bishop of New York. Bonnici was consecrated as a bishop at St. Patrick's Cathedral by Cardinal Timothy Dolan on March 1, 2022, with Auxiliary Bishops John O'Hara and Gerald Walsh serving as co-consecrators.[8][9][3]
