ACN-USA board member installed as bishop of New York diocese

Bishop Bonnici offers spiritual plan of life to his new flock in Rochester.

Bishop John S. Bonnici, a member of the board of directors of Aid to the Church in Need-USA, was installed as bishop of Rochester in upstate New York on March 19 — the Solemnity of St. Joseph.

Bishop-Designate John S. Bonnici shows the Apostolic Letter to the congregation during the Mass installing him as the tenth bishop of the Diocese of Rochester March 19, 2026 at Rochester’s Sacred Heart Cathedral. (Catholic Courier photo by Jeff Witherow)

Until now, Bishop Bonnici has been an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York, and a pastor in Larchmont, N.Y.

He has been on ACN-USA’s board since 2007.

Before a congregation of some 600 people in the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart — including bishops, priests and laypeople — Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, read the official letter of appointment from Pope Leo XIV. In prefatory remarks, Cardinal Pierre, who soon will be retiring as papal representative to Washington, noted Bishop Bonnici’s “genuine attentiveness to persons.”

Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks, who was himself recently installed as Archbishop of New York, officially seated Bishop Bonnici in the cathedra, the bishops chair, and handed him his bishop’s staff. Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop Emeritus of New York, also presided at the installation Mass, along with Rochester Bishop Emeritus Salvatore R. Matano, Archbishop Richard G. Henning of Boston, Ukrainian Metropolitan Borys Gudziak of Philadelphia, and Bishop Robert J. Brennan of Brooklyn.

The Four L’s

In his homily, Bishop Bonnici shared that he has long been guided in life by what he called “The Four L’s.” He had learned them in catechism class at his childhood parish of St. Ann in Manhattan. They are a way to live with others while remaining centered in Christ. The Four L’s are Listening, Learning, Loving, and Living:

  • To practice genuinely listening to others is, the bishop suggested, even more important today than when he was growing up, as the world today seems “noisier,” with a steady stream of information, misinformation and distraction thrown at us.
  • To acknowledge that we are always learning is an act of humility, admitting that we don’t know everything.
  • True love is summed up by Christ: Love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.
  • Both St. Joseph and Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, the television evangelist who was once bishop of Rochester, both offer examples of living a life in Christ. St. Joseph was totally focused on Jesus and Mary. Archbishop Sheen, who maintained a personal Holy Hour each day in front of the Blessed Sacrament, offers an example of how Catholics can live closer to Christ in the sacraments.

Bishop Bonnici noted the coincidence that the teacher who taught him the Four L’s, Sister Laura Moore, was a Mission Helper of the Sacred Heart — and his new cathedral is dedicated to the Sacred Heart.

In addition, he said, he was ordained a priest in 1991, on the feast of SS. John Fisher and Thomas More, who, as it turns out, is patron of the Diocese of Rochester.

A nod to ACN

During the homily, Bishop Bonnici also thanked ACN-USA Board Chairman George J. Marlin, who read the second reading of the Mass.

“He and I have been together serving Aid to the Church in Need for a very long time,” the bishop told the congregation. “With his leadership and his team, many lives have been changed for the better.”

–John Burger