Stanislaus Vincent Bona

Stanislaus Bona was born in Chicago, Illinois, to John and Catherine (née Smigiel) Bona, who had immigrated to the United States from Poland in 1881.[1][2] He attended St. Stanislaus College in Chicago, from where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1905.[1] He continued his studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, there earning a Doctor of Divinity and Licentiate of Canon Law.[1] He was ordained to the priesthood in Rome on November 1, 1912.[2][3]

He then served as a curate at St. Barbara Church in Chicago until 1916, when he became resident chaplain at the House of Correction.[1][2] He was later a professor at Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary (1918–1922) and pastor of St. Casimir Church (1922–1931).[1] He was named a Monsignor in 1931 and was a member of the Board of Delegates for Religious Communities of Women.[1]

On December 18, 1931, Bona was appointed the second Bishop of Grand Island, Nebraska, by Pope Pius XI.[3] 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.[3] He guided the diocese through the troubling times of the Great Depression and World War II.[4] During the war, he ministered to German and Italian prisoners of war kept in camps in the diocese.[4]

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.[3] He succeeded Bishop Paul Rhode as the seventh Bishop of Green Bay upon the latter's death on March 3, 1945.[3] During his tenure in Green Bay, he founded sixty-seven grade schools, four high schools, Holy Family College, and Sacred Heart Seminary.[5] He also established a diocesan newspaper and adjusted the social welfare program of Catholic Charities to meet new needs, including those of migrant workers.[5] 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.[2] His cabin in Minong, Wisconsin was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.[6]