The Otto A. Shults Lecture Series on Spirituality was born of the dream of Mr. Otto A. Shults, a faithful and generous advocate of St. Bernard’s Seminary, predecessor of St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry.
Following her husband’s death, Mabel Shults vowed to continue the family’s commitment to theological and ministerial education by endowing this Lecture Series, now in its 51st year.
Each year since 1974, the Lectureship has brought distinguished scholars to St. Bernard’s to address theological topics as they relate to the understanding and practice of ministry in the Church.
We are pleased to welcome this year's lecturer, The Most Rev John S. Bonnici, Bishop of Rochester who will explore how we can renew our connection to God and to one another in an increasingly fragmented and isolated world in his lecture titled:
"Powering Up: Reconnecting to God and Neighbor in a Disconnected World"
Bishop John S. Bonnici was born in New York City and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of New York in 1991. He holds degrees in biology and philosophy from St. John’s University, as well as advanced degrees in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Rome and Washington, D.C.
Bishop Bonnici has served extensively in parish ministry and Catholic higher education, including more than two decades as a professor of moral theology at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers. He has also served as director of the Archdiocese of New York’s Family Life/Respect Life Office and is the author of Person to Person: Friendship and Love in the Life and Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar.
Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of New York by Pope Francis in 2022, Bishop Bonnici served as Episcopal Vicar for Westchester and Rockland Counties. In January 2026, Pope Leo XIV appointed him the Tenth Bishop of Rochester.
Bishop Bonnici’s pastoral and academic work has focused particularly on moral theology, marriage and family life, Catholic education, and the dignity of human life.
