His father, Giovanni Antonio, had a farm at Rosate, and in 1767 had married Maddalena Belloni, from the nearby town of Casorate.
He entered the seminary in Milan, and by the age of 23 was a deacon and had earned a degree in Moral Theology at the University of Pavia.
He exercised his ministry in the Milanese monastery of St. Eustorgius, in the college of the oblates of Rho, and as provost in the parish church of his native Rosata.
The Emperor Francis I of Austria chose Bozzi and he was consecrated by the future Pope Pius VIII.
Bozzi was "preceded by a great reputation for spiritual qualities and for doctrine", as stated in a report of the time.