History

Rt. Reverend Monsignor John J. Bonner, D.D., L.L.D., son of Hugh A. and Susan Fleming Bonner,
was born in Philadelphia, November 2, 1890.  He attended St. Agatha’s School for two years and Our
Mother of Sorrows School on Lancaster Avenue for six years.  After graduating from Roman Catholic
High School in 1908, he entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and later studied at the North American
College in Rome.  He was ordained in the Basilica of St. John Lateran on June 2, 1917 by Cardinal Pompilii.

His first appointment was as assistant rector of St. Bridget’s Church in Philadelphia.  After service as
an Army chaplain in World War I, he was named assistant principal of Roman Catholic High School, April 21,
1919.  In 1923 he was transferred to Easton as an assistant rector of St. Bernard’s Church.  In 1924 he
was again appointed assistant rector at St. Bridget’s Church.  He was named dean of Immaculata College
until August 1926, when he was appointed Diocesan Superintendent of Schools.

Monsignor Bonner, who was named a Domestic Prelate in 1930 by Pope Pius XI, was a member of many
Catholic educational associations.  He was president of the Catholic Association of Pennsylvania and treasurer
of the National Catholic Education Association.  He won wide recognition as a teacher, orator, and educator
and took deep interest in retreats for laymen.  In 1929, he was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Law
by Villanova College, and a few years later was similarly honored by St. Joseph’s College.

According to the American Catholic Historical Society, “Monsignor Bonner was the best-known Catholic
educator in the country.”  Among his achievements in his nineteen-year tenure as superintendent were the
increase in the number of tuition-free diocesan high schools from three to twelve and the founding of the
Philadelphia Catholic League.

On November 27, 1945, Monsignor Bonner died of a heart attack in his office at John W. Hallahan Catholic
Girls’ High School.  In 1953, to meet the increasing demand for a Catholic high school in the expanding western
suburbs, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia converted the vacated St. Vincent’s Orphanage into a school for
boys under the title Archbishop Prendergast High School.  Three years later a new building was erected on
the same tract and named Monsignor Bonner High School in memory of Rev. John J. Bonner, the former diocesan superintendent of schools.  Bonner then became a school for boys, and Prendergast was designated as a
school for girls.

In 2005 the Office of Catholic Education of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced that it would be implementing an administrative restructuring of Monsignor Bonner High School for Boys and the neighboring Archbishop Prendergast High School for Girls. The schools began operating under a co-institutional model in July 2006. This new model allowed for one administration; a single President, Principal, and Assistant Principals for Academic Affairs, Student Services, and Student Affairs. The co-institutional model would provide for single-gender education to remain throughout the core curriculum, while allowing for expanded elective offerings for the upper-classmen.

In January of 2006, the Bonner President, Rev. Augustine Esposito, O.S.A., Ph. D, and the Prendergast Principal, Mrs. Mary Berner were named to their respective positions in the reorganized entity named “Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast Catholic High School”. In July of 2007, Mr. William Brannick replaced Mrs. Berner as Principal of the co-institutional school.

It was with great sadness in June of 2009 that the Augustinian Friars, who had staffed Monsignor Bonner for 56 years, withdrew from campus citing a diminishing number of priests within the Order of St. Augustine. On June 15, 2009 Rev. James Olson, a Diocesan priest, began as President


Bonner Presidents
1993 to 1996: Rev. Gordon Marcellus, O.S.A.
1996 to 1999: Mr. Thomas Smith
1999 to 2001: Rev. John T. Denny, O.S.A. '75
2001 to 2009: Rev. Augustine M. Esposito, O.S.A., Ph.D. '69
2009 to present: Rev. James P. Olson

Bonner Principals
1953 to 1959: Rev. John Gallagher, O.S.A.
1959 to 1962: Rev. Kenneth Kennedy, O.S.A.
1962 to 1967: Rev. Thomas Mahoney, O.S.A.
1967 to 1972: Rev. David Duffy, O.S.A.
1972 to 1974: Rev. Francis Sevick, O.S.A.
1974 to 1976: Rev. Harry Erdlen, O.S.A.
1976 to 1979: Rev. George Burnell, O.S.A.
1979 to 1987: Rev. Francis Horn, O.S.A. '67
1987 to 1993: Rev. Gordon Marcellus, O.S.A.
1993 to 1999: Rev. John Denny, O.S.A. '75
1999 to 2005: Dr. Thomas Rooney '62
2005 to 2006: Mr. William Brannick '95
2006 to 2007: Mrs. Mary H. Berner
2007 to present: Mr. William Brannick '95