Joseph Maria Bonnemain

{{Short description|Swiss Catholic bishop}} {{Infobox Christian leader | type = Bishop | honorific_prefix = The Right Reverend | name = Joseph Maria Bonnemain | honorific_suffix = Opus Dei | title = Bishop of Chur | image = Bischof Joseph Maria Bonnemain 1.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Bishop Joseph Maria Bonnemain, 2025 | native_name = | native_name_lang = | church = Catholic Church | archdiocese = | province = | metropolis = | diocese = Diocese of Chur | see = Chur | appointed = 15 February 2021 | term_start = 19 March 2021 | term_end = | quashed =  | predecessor = Vitus Huonder | successor = | opposed = | other_post =  | ordination = 15 August 1978 | ordained_by = Franz Cardinal König | consecration = 19 March 2021 | consecrated_by = Kurt Cardinal Koch | cardinal = | created_cardinal_by = | rank = | laicized =  | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1948|07|26}} | baptised =  | birth_place = Barcelona, Spain | death_date =  | death_place =  | buried =  | resting_place_coordinates = | nationality = Swiss | religion = Roman Catholic | residence = | parents = | spouse =  | children = | occupation = | profession =  | education = | alma_mater = | motto = | signature = | signature_alt = | coat_of_arms = | coat_of_arms_alt = | other = }}

'''Joseph Maria Bonnemain''' (born 26 July 1948) is a Swiss prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the bishop of the Diocese de Chur since 2021.

==Life== Joseph Bonnemain was born on 26 July 1948 in Barcelona, the son of a Swiss father and a Spanish mother. He speaks Catalan, Spanish, French, German and Italian. After completing school in 1967, he studied medicine at the University of Zurich, completing his studies in 1975.

While in Barcelona, he established a connection with Opus Dei. He studied philosophy and theology in Rome.<ref>{{cite web|title=Zur Ernennung von Dr. Joseph Bonnemain zum neuen Bischof von Chur|website=opusdei.org|publisher=|url=https://opusdei.org/de-ch/article/zur-ernennung-von-dr-joseph-bonnemain-zum-neuen-bischof-von-chur/ |access-date= |date=15 February 2021 |language=de}}</ref> On 15 August 1978 he was ordained a priest by Cardinal Franz König in Torreciudad and four years later incardinated into the personal prelature of Opus Dei.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nach Bischofsernennung: Gelingt der Neuanfang im Bistum Chur? |url=https://www.katholisch.de/artikel/28729-nach-bischofsernennung-gelingt-der-neuanfang-im-bistum-chur| publisher = Katolisch.de | date = 15 February 2021 | first = Raphael|last= Rauch |language=de}}</ref> In 1980, he completed a doctorate in canon law at the University of Navarre. During this time, he also worked as a chaplain for workers and farmers in the Navarre region.

From 1981 he worked at the diocesan curia for the Diocese of Chur as a judicial lawyer and from 1982 as vice official. From 1983 to 1991 he was a member of the Delegation of the Holy See to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva. In 1985, he was a chaplain at the Limmattal hospital in Schlieren in Zürich. In 1989 he was named an official of the Diocese of Chur. From 2002, he served as secretary for the Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church established by the Swiss Bishops' Conference. In 2003, he was named a canon of the Chur cathedral chapter. In 2008 he was made a member of the Bishop's Council and in 2009 he was appointed a Chaplain of His Holiness. From 2011, he worked as episcopal vicar for canon law and for the cantons of the Diocese.

After the cathedral chapter rejected all three of the candidates Pope Francis proposed as their new bishop,<ref name=recite/>{{efn|"Since the 15th century, by virtue of the 1448 Concordat of Vienna and then the 1948 papal decree ''Etsi Salva'', the Chapter of Chur has been enjoying the rare ecclesial privilege of electing its bishops. According to that procedure, it is the responsibility of the apostolic nuncio of Switzerland to identify three possible candidates (after consulting the bishops’ conference, the cathedral chapter of Chur, as well as some clergymen, nuns and lay people from the diocese) and submit the list, known as the terna, to the Holy See. After getting Rome’s approval, the terna is then sent to the canons of Chur, who must elect one of the three candidates."<ref>{{cite news | access-date = 23 September 2023 | url = https://www.ncregister.com/news/bishop-s-election-in-the-swiss-diocese-of-chur-highlights-local-catholic-divisions | work = National Catholic Register | date = 4 December 2020 | title = Bishop’s Election in the Swiss Diocese of Chur Highlights Local Catholic Divisions }}</ref>}} the pope appointed Bonnemain the bishop of Chur on 15 February 2021.<ref name=vatbio>{{cite press release | access-date = 11 January 2023 | publisher = Holy See Press Office | date = 15 February 2021 | title = Resignations and Appointments, 15.02.2021 | url = https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2021/02/15/210215b.html}}</ref> His name had reportedly been rejected by the chapter because of his age.<ref>{{cite news | access-date = 23 September 2023 | url = https://www.ncregister.com/news/bishop-s-election-in-the-swiss-diocese-of-chur-highlights-local-catholic-divisions | work = National Catholic Register | date = 4 December 2020 | title = Bishop’s Election in the Swiss Diocese of Chur Highlights Local Catholic Divisions }}</ref> Despite his age, he agreed to serve for at least five years. He received his episcopal consecration on 19 March from Cardinal Kurt Koch. Bonnemain had women play all the roles allowed in the service. He said he will not have a coat of arms: "The sign of the Cross of Christ is enough for me. And this, only this, I will use."<ref name=recite>{{cite news | first = Christa | last= Pongratz-Lippitt | url = https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/13982/we-must-do-more-than-recite-church-teaching-says-new-swiss-bishop- | title = We must do more than recite church teaching says new Swiss bishop | newspaper = The Tablet | date = 27 March 2021 | access-date = 5 April 2021}}</ref>

In November 2022, he announced he would not fill the position of exorcist, saying "In most cases, people are simply suffering mental or psychological stress. They need support, prayers, a blessing or other appropriate services – but not necessarily a major exorcism." For years the Chur diocese attracted foreigners because it was one of the few in the region still performing exorcisms.<ref>{{cite news | access-date = 11 January 2023 | url = https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-bishop-purges-exorcist-post/48086754 | title = Swiss bishop purges exorcist post | date = 26 November 2022 | publisher = swissinfo.ch }}</ref>

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==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{wikiquote}} {{commonscat}}

*{{cite web | website = Catholic Hierarchy | url = http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bbonnem.html | title = Bishop Joseph Maria Bonnemain, Opus Dei }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnemain, Joseph Maria}} Category:1948 births Category:Living people Category:Clergy from Barcelona Category:Bishops of Chur Category:Bishops appointed by Pope Francis Category:Spanish people of Swiss descent Category:Swiss people of Spanish descent Category:Opus Dei members Category:21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Switzerland Category:University of Zurich alumni