25 Years a Priest in 2025

A Jesuit for almost 40 years, Fr. José (Cheo) R. Aponte Bernardy, SJ, celebrates 25 years since his priestly ordination in 2025.

Born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, Fr. Aponte Bernardy entered the Society of Jesus in San Juan in 1987. He has ministered in San Juan and Mayagüez, Puerto Rico; Kansas City, Missouri, and Azpeitia, Spain.

Father Aponte Bernardy studied in Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chicago, Madrid and Berkeley, earning both a Master of Theology (M.Th.) in 2000 from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, and a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in painting and drawing in 2020 from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

He served his regency at Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola, the Jesuit high school in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from 1994 to 1996, and returned to the school following his priestly ordination in 2000 to serve as chaplain until 2004. He was named pastor of Parroquia El Buen Pastor in Mayagüez in 2008 and served there until 2015, when he was named chancellor and vicar of the Diocese of Mayagüez in 2015 by Bishop Álvaro Corrada del Río, SJ.

After earning his Master of Fine Arts in 2020, Fr. Aponte Bernardy was an adjunct instructor of fine arts and the assistant curator of the Greenlease Gallery at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri.

Since 2022, Fr. Aponte Bernardy has been missioned to the Spain Province, where he serves at the Santuario San Ignacio de Loyola, supporting the museum at the home of the Jesuit founder. He is a member of the Jesuit team at the Centro Espiritualidad Loyola, where he accompanies others in the Spiritual Exercises. Father Aponte Bernardy professed his final vows in 2024 in the Chapel of the Conversion of St. Ignatius.