Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Rochester, New York. | Credit: DanielPenfield via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Jan 7, 2026 / 09:07 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday named New York Auxiliary Bishop John S. Bonnici to lead the Diocese of Rochester, New York.
Bonnici, 60, was made an auxiliary bishop for New York in March 2022 after 30 years as a priest of the archdiocese. In Rochester, he succeeds Bishop Salvatore R. Matano, who is 79.
Bonnici holds a doctorate from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Washington (1995) and a licentiate degree from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute (1992) in Rome, where he also studied at the Pontifical North American College and the Gregorian University (1987–1990) before his ordination.
He was born in New York on Feb. 17, 1965, and earned bachelor of science degrees in biology and philosophy from St. John’s University in Queens, New York, in 1987.
The Diocese of Rochester serves approximately 306,000 Catholics in the upstate region of the state of New York.
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