Pietro Uccelli

In 1900, the news of the martyrdom of Bishop Francesco Fogolla and his companions in China, killed during the Boxer Rebellion, marked a decisive turning point in his life. Seized by the desire to replace one of these missionaries who had fallen for the faith, he decided to dedicate himself to distant missions. Despite the initial reluctance of his father and his bishop, he persevered and entered the Congregation of the Xaverian Missionaries in Parma on November 30, 1904, an institute recently founded by Saint Guido Maria Conforti. He made his first religious profession there on December 3, 1905. On January 19, 1906, Father Uccelli embarked from Naples for China in the company of two Xaverian confreres and a group of Salesians led by Saint Luigi Versiglia. For thirteen years, he exercised his ministry in Western Honan (Henan), traveling through numerous localities and evangelizing with self-denial territories where Christianity was still unknown. In 1919, he was recalled to Italy by his founder to ensure the formation of future missionaries at the motherhouse in Parma. In August 1921, he was transferred to Vicenza as spiritual director of the apostolic house. He made his perpetual vows on September 17, 1921, and was appointed rector of the Vicenza house on January 10, 1922. In October 1928, Saint Guido Maria Conforti appointed him general councilor of the congregation, a position he would hold while participating in four general chapters until 1946. He left his duties as rector on August 14, 1941. During the Second World War, Father Uccelli distinguished himself by his heroic dedication to the population of Vicenza. Constantly traveling by bicycle, he braved dangers to bring material aid, spiritual comfort, and hope to the wounded, the disaster-stricken, and the most needy.

After his death on October 29, 1954, in Vicenza, his reputation for holiness continued to grow. The diocesan phase of his cause for beatification and canonization was officially opened in Vicenza on December 3, 1997, and concluded on March 19, 2001. The acts of the diocesan trial were validated by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on April 5, 2002. The Positio super virtutibus, submitted in 2005, was examined and approved by the theological consultants on September 14, 2017.

On May 19, 2018, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, thereby declaring him venerable. The cause is currently awaiting the official recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession to pave the way for his beatification.

The spiritual life of Father Pietro Uccelli was deeply rooted in the Eucharist and continual prayer. In China, he wrote to the founder: "I slept next to Jesus," having obtained a room adjacent to the tabernacle. In Vicenza, he had a small window cut into the wall of his office looking directly into the chapel so that he could contemplate the Blessed Sacrament at any time, especially during the night. He frequently recited the rosary, which he would attach to the handlebars of his bicycle during his travels. Of a simple, joyful, and humble character, he was also endowed with a great devotion to Saint Joseph. It was to the latter's intercession that he systematically attributed the graces and physical healings that the faithful claimed to obtain through his prayers. His charity toward the poor was boundless; he considered any day "lost" in which he had not been able to meet and relieve a sick or needy person. His mortal remains rest today in the chapel adjoining the house of the Xaverian Missionaries of Vicenza. In tribute to his charitable work during the war, the municipality of Vicenza dedicated a public space to his memory, the "Area verde Padre Uccelli."