Catholic Church Names Bonnar New Bishop of Youngstown
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Pope Francis has named the Rev. David Bonnar, previously a priest with the Diocese of Pittsburgh, as the new Bishop of Youngstown, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops announced Tuesday morning.
Bonnar fills the position that has been vacant since June, when Bishop George Murry died.
He is a native of Pittsburgh and ordained to the priesthood on July 23, 1988. He received his baccalaureate from Duquesne University and studied at the Pontifical North American College in Rome to earn his bachelor’s in sacred theology.
After ordination, Bonnar was assigned to St. Vitus parish in New Castle, Pa., where he served until 1992, when he was assigned as parochial vicar at Pittsburgh’s St. Rosalia parish. From 2002 to 2007, he was pastor at St. Bartholomew parish in Pittsburgh before serving for two years as secretary for parish life and ministerial leadership for the Diocese of Pittsburgh. In 2009, he was named pastor of St. Bernard parish.
Most recently, he was named pastor of St. Aidan parish in Wexford, Pa., a position he took earlier this year.
Bishop-elect Bonnar’s ministry also includes service on the Diocese of Pittsburgh’s Post Ordination Board from 1996 to 1999, as well as chairman of the Permanent Diaconate Admissions Board, Priestly Formation Board, chairman of the Priesthood Candidate Admission Board and executive secretary for the St. Paul Seminary Advisory Board – all from1997 to 2002. He has also been chaplain of the Serra Club (2004-2005), a member of the Diocesan Pastoral Council (2004-2006) and dean of the East Suburban Deanery (2005-2007).
Since 2014, Bonnar has been priest editor of The Priest Magazine. Earlier this year, he was named a member of the National Advisory Board for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Bishop-elect Bonnar is fluent in Italian.
The Diocese of Youngstown covers 3,404 square miles, an area that includes 1.2 million people, 151,286 of whom are Catholic.
St. Columba Cathedral image via Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. The Rev. David Bonnar portrait via Diocese of Pittsburgh.
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