Stanislaus Vincent Bona


Stanislaus Vincent Bona was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the bishop of the Diocese of Grand Island, Nebraska and bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Biography

Early life, ordination and ministry

Stanislaus Bona was born in Chicago, Illinois, to John and Catherine Bona, who had immigrated to the United States from Poland in 1881. He attended St. Stanislaus College in Chicago, from where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1905. He continued his studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, there earning a Doctor of Divinity and Licentiate of Canon Law. He was ordained to the priesthood in Rome on November 1, 1912.
He then served as a curate at St. Barbara Church in Chicago until 1916, when he became resident chaplain at the House of Correction. He was later a professor at Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary and pastor of St. Casimir Church. He was named a Monsignor in 1931 and was a member of the Board of Delegates for Religious Communities of Women.

Bishop of Grand Island, Nebraska

On December 18, 1931, Bona was appointed the second Bishop of Grand Island, Nebraska, by Pope Pius XI. He received his episcopal consecration on February 25, 1932, from Cardinal George Mundelein, with Bishops Paul Peter Rhode and Francis Martin Kelly serving as co-consecrators, at Holy Name Cathedral. He guided the diocese through the troubling times of the Great Depression and World War II. During the war, he ministered to German and Italian prisoners of war kept in camps in the diocese.

Bishop of Green Bay, Wisconsin

On December 2, 1944, Bona was named Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Titular Bishop of Mela by Pope Pius XII. He succeeded Bishop Paul Rhode as the seventh Bishop of Green Bay upon the latter's death on March 3, 1945. During his tenure in Green Bay, he founded sixty-seven grade schools, four high schools, Holy Family College, and Sacred Heart Seminary. He also established a diocesan newspaper and adjusted the social welfare program of Catholic Charities to meet new needs, including those of migrant workers. He attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council between 1962 and 1965.
Bona died at age 79 in Green Bay on December 1, 1967.