Pope Benedict XVI has appointed 51-year-old prelate Joseph Bonello bishop of Juticalpa, Honduras, according to the Vatican.

Mgr Bonello replaces Bishop Tomás Andrés Mauro Muldoon, of the Order of Friars Minor, who has resigned for health reasons. Up until now, Mgr Bonello had been bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Juticalpa.

He was born on 4 April 1961 in Xagħra, Gozo, and studied philosophy and theology at the National Institute of Religious Ecclesiastical Studies in Malta.

After moving to Honduras, he was pastor of Santa Ana in La Libertad. In 2009 he was appointed vicar-general of the diocese of Comayagua and in 2010 bishop coadjutor of Juticalpa.