Father Ronald Bonneau C.Ss.R.

Father Ronald E. Bonneau, C.Ss.R., of the St. Mary’s community, Annapolis, Maryland, died on November 9, 2021, aged 76 and eleven months. In early September, Father Bonneau celebrated his Golden Jubilee of Priesthood in Annapolis at St. John Neumann, St. Mary’s Parish, with confreres from several Redemptorist communities and parishioners from St. Mary’s. Family members and friends also joined him to mark the occasion. It was a joyful celebration that touched his heart and brought him great happiness and peace.

He loved his family and friends, near and far, and will be remembered for his booming voice, his penchant for bursting into song for no reason other than to sing, for his love of learning and his deep faith, for his interest in travel to familiar and unfamiliar places, and for his loyalty to all those he loved.

Father Bonneau is survived by his many Redemptorist confreres, including Father James Gilmour, C.Ss.R., Brooklyn, NY; Father Patrick Woods, C.Ss.R.; Pastor of St. Mary’s, Annapolis where Father Bonneau was stationed at the time of his death; and his seminary classmates Father Francis Gargani, C.Ss.R.; Father Norman Bennett, C.Ss.R.; Father Charles MacDonald, C.Ss.R.; and Father Manuel Rodriguez, C.Ss.R..

Father Bonneau is also survived by his sisters, Sister Claire Bonneau, SSND, Baltimore, MD; Jeanne Kennedy, Williston, VT; Mary Bonneau, South Burlington VT; Martha Bonneau and Mary Ladabouche, Fairfield, VT; and Helen-Anne Cafferty, Essex VT. He is also survived by nieces and nephews Michael and Patrick Kennedy; Lisa McKenney and daughter Madison; Michelle and Paul Tesori and daughter Alexis, son Isaiah; Mary-Beth and Aaron Rose and daughter Arabella; Colleen Robie and daughters Naleen and Selena; Elizabeth and Richard Rodriguez and daughter Sophia; Eddie and Allie Cafferty and daughters Kendall and Abigail; and Susan and Josh Couture and daughters Avery, Harper, and Cora.

Father Bonneau was predeceased by his Bonneau and Jette grandparents; his parents, Edward, and Helen Bonneau; his nephew, Matthew Kennedy; and numerous Jette and Bonneau aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Born on December 12, 1944, in Hanover, New Hampshire, he was the only son of Edward and Helen (Jette) Bonneau, though he grew up with five sisters. His family moved to Bradford, Vermont, where he spent his early years exploring the history of his home state and learning the ways of Vermont life, developing an interest in and love for Vermont that grew and stayed with him throughout his entire life. His family was active in the Redemptorist community of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. It was at that church and in his home, in bucolic Bradford on the banks of the Connecticut River, that the seeds of Father Bonneau’s priestly vocation were sown.

He attended public schools in Bradford and graduated from Bradford Academy before entering St. Mary’s Minor Seminary, North East, Pennsylvania where he studied from 1962 to 1964. He made his first profession in 1965 at St. Mary’s, Ilchester, Maryland and final vows in 1968, at St. Alphonsus College, Suffield, Connecticut. He took his M.Div. (1971) and M.R.E. (1972) degrees at Mt. St. Alphonsus Seminary, Esopus, New York, where he was ordained on June 20, 1971, by the Servant of God, Terrence Cardinal Cooke.

Shortly after completing studies, his dream of a missionary’s life began with his arrival in Asunción, Paraguay, on September 8, 1972 from where he immediately set out for Cochabamba, Bolivia, to learn Spanish at the Instituto de Idiomas. Beginning in December 1972, he spent the next 24 years as a missionary in Paraguay. His assignments for the Vice-Province of Asunción were in Bella Vista Norte from December 1972 to February 1973; Pedro Juan Caballero from 1973 to 1978 and rector from 1978 to February 1981; Asunción II from February 1981 to February 1982, where he initiated the formation pre-novitiate program; Asunción, Our Lady of the Pillar, Director of the National Seminary from 1982 to 1989, where he also taught music and theology; and Asunción, St. Raphael, Barrio Tembetary, Asunción where he was pastor. During this period, he served for three years on the National Board of the Cursillo Movement in Paraguay, set up an institute for formation of religious, served as both an extraordinary and ordinary vice-provincial consultor, and served on the priests’ senate of the Diocese of Asunción. In 1989 Father Bonneau took a sabbatical between May and December in the United States and Italy, where he completed a six-month renewal course in Nemi.

Returning to the vice-province, he served as novice master from 1990 to 1993, in Carapeguá, Paraguay. Also, during this time, he served as pastoral administrator of St. Bonaventure Parish in Asunción in 1992. Together with his novices, Father Bonneau served the main church and its 52 out missions. In 1993, he was named pastor of Santísimo Redentor in Asunción, which had a school with 1700 children from 1994 to 1996. At the same time, he was asked to be the executive secretary of the Office for Ecumenical Affairs for the Paraguayan Bishops Conference. During this period, in the aftermath of the nation’s dictatorship, the churches banded together to influence the writing of a new national constitution. Father Bonneau made a significant contribution to this work, in part because he had been a vocal advocate for justice in the years during the dictatorship.

After his father’s death in 1994, Father Bonneau asked to be returned to the United States to be closer to his family. In January 1996, he returned to the Province and was stationed at Most Holy Redeemer, New York City. In the spring of 1997, the pastor, Father Tom O’Connor, died and Father Bonneau was asked to assume duties as pastor and rector of the community from May 1997 to August 2002. In 1997, he also joined the North American Commission on Redemptorist Spirituality. Father Bonneau became pastor at Immaculate Conception, Bronx, New York, from August 2002 to August 2008. He then began a renewal course at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, California, with an emphasis on the Second Vatican Council. In 2009, Father Bonneau, with Father James Gilmour, began a specialized ministry serving the Spanish-speaking communities of the Diocese of Metuchen as co-directors of the Office for Hispanic Ministry. This continued until June 20, 2012. Following that, he was named Novice Master and Assistant Novice Master in Toronto Canada for the North American Conference. In September of 2017 Father Bonneau took up parochial duties at St. Mary’s, Annapolis, Maryland.

In the fall of 2020, Father Bonneau began a round of immunotherapy to treat bladder cancer that he had been battling. In September of 2021, he underwent surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital after which he was transferred to Stella Maris Home in Timonium for rehabilitation, but his health declined, and recovery was not to be. Father Bonneau died in St. Joseph Medical Center in the comfort of family and friends.

The family of Father Bonneau extends sincere thanks and deep gratitude to Father Pat Woods and the entire community of St. Mary’s Parish; to Father Jim Gilmour; and to family and friends who offered support, kindness, and prayers during the past several weeks. The outpouring of your caring gave our family comfort and respite, and Father Bonneau said he felt surrounded by love.

For those wishing to honor Father Bonneau’s memory, contributions may be sent to C.Ss.R., St. Mary’s Rectory, 109 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis, MD, 21401-2599 or to School Sisters of Notre Dame, Sister Mary Lennon, SSND Prov. Treasurer, 6401 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21212.

A visitation will be held at St. Mary's Catholic Church at 109 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis, MD 21401 on Wednesday, November 17, 2021 from 6:30 - 8 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 10:30 AM at St. John Neumann Catholic Church 620 N. Bestgate Road, Annapolis, MD 21401.