Joe Bonello was born in Xagħra on the island of Gozo in Malta on 4 April 1961, the third of four children.
In 1977 he joined the Franciscan novitiate in Għajnsielem and six years later was professed as a member of the Order of Friars Minor.
In 2009 Bonello was appointed vicar general of the Diocese of Comayagua by its bishop Roberto Camilleri Azzopardi.
[2] A year later on 22 November 2010 Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Coadjutor Bishop of Juticalpa in Honduras.
[3] He was consecrated bishop by Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga on 12 February 2011.