Pope Francis has appointed Rev. John S. Bonnici and Rev. Joseph A. Espaillat as auxiliary bishops of New York.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, thanked the Holy Father for the appointments.  He said, “Pope Francis has selected two outstanding priests, both experienced pastors, to serve the people of God of this archdiocese as auxiliary bishops.  I look forward to working even more closely with Bishop-elect Bonnici and Bishop-elect Espaillat, as they undertake this new role in their priesthood.”

Bishop-elect Bonnici is a priest of the Archdiocese of New York and has served as pastor of St. Augustine parish and Saints John and Paul parish in Larchmont since 2021. Father Bonnici was born on February 17, 1965, in New York, New York. He received Bachelor of Science degrees in biology and philosophy from St. John’s University in Queens, New York in 1987, and studied at the Pontifical North American College and at the Gregorian University in Rome (1987-1990). He pursued his graduate studies at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Rome where he earned his licentiate degree (1990-1992), and at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Washington where he earned his doctorate (1995). He was ordained to the priesthood on June 22, 1991.

Bishop-elect Bonnici’s assignments include serving on the faculty of St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, New York (1994-1995); assistant director (1995-1996) and director (1996-2002) of the archdiocesan family life/respect life office. His parish assignments include parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Elmsford (1992-1994); pastor at Church of St. Philip Neri in the Bronx (2002-2008); pastor at St. Columba in Chester (2008-2021); and administrator at St. Mary’s parish in Washingtonville (2020-2021).

Bishop-elect Espaillat is a priest of the Archdiocese of New York and since 2015 has served as pastor of St. Anthony of Padua parish in the Bronx and as director of the Hispanic Catholic Charismatic Renewal for the archdiocese. Father Espaillat was born December 27, 1976, in New York. He attended Cathedral Preparatory School in Manhattan and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Fordham University in the Bronx in 1998. He received a Master of Divinity degree in Theology and a Master of Arts degree in Theology (specializing in Church History) from St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, New York (2003). He was ordained to the priesthood on May 17, 2003.

Bishop-elect Espaillat’s assignments after ordination include parochial vicar at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Manhattan (2003); administrator and then pastor at St. Peter’s parish in Yonkers (2007); and director of youth ministry for the Archdiocese of New York (2012).

The Archdiocese of New York is comprised of 4,683 square miles in the State of New York and has a total population of 6,238,441 of which 2,807,298 are Catholic. Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan is the current archbishop of New York.