Bernardino Piccinelli

After his ordination, Father Bernardino Piccinelli began his pastoral ministry at the sanctuary of the Madonna della Ghiara in Reggio Emilia, before returning a year later to the college of Ronzano as a teacher and vice-master of novices. In 1937, he was appointed pastor of the Sacred Heart (Sacro Cuore) parish in Ancona, a position he would hold with exceptional dedication for several decades. During the Second World War, Ancona suffered violent bombings. Refusing to abandon his parishioners, Father Bernardino remained on-site to provide them with constant spiritual and material support. He sought help from both German forces and the Allies to feed starving families and hid people pursued by the occupiers. For his courage and heroic humanitarian action, the municipality of Ancona awarded him the gold medal for civic merit on April 26, 1984. On June 14, 1966, Pope Paul VI appointed him titular bishop of Gaudiaba and auxiliary bishop of Ancona. He received episcopal ordination on July 10, 1966. By pontifical privilege, he retained his position as pastor of the Sacred Heart parish. He also assumed the role of vicar general of the archdiocese. During the terrible earthquake that struck Ancona in 1972, he once again established himself as a point of reference and an indefatigable consoler for the affected population. Having reached the age limit, he submitted his resignation on January 16, 1980, and retired to the Servite convent in Ancona, where he passed away on October 1, 1984.

The reputation for holiness of Father Bernardino Piccinelli, already alive during his lifetime, spread rapidly after his death. The diocesan inquiry for his beatification was opened in Ancona on March 16, 1996, and closed on October 8, 2006. The validity of this inquiry was officially recognized by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on November 30, 2007. The drafting of the Positio on his heroic virtues was subsequently carried out by the postulation of the Order of the Servants of Mary.

On December 21, 2020, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Bernardino Piccinelli, thereby conferring upon him the title of Venerable. For his beatification to be pronounced, the official recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession is now required.

The spirituality of the Venerable Bernardino Piccinelli is deeply marked by an unwavering trust in divine goodness and a tender devotion to the Virgin Mary, whom he affectionately called 'Mamma'. A man of intense prayer, he would rise at four in the morning for his personal orison and spend his afternoons in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. Affectionately nicknamed the 'vescovo bambino' (the child bishop) because of his evangelical simplicity, his gentleness, and his ability to read hearts, he embodied the figure of the pastor close to the humble, the poor, and the sick. Even today, his tomb located in the Church of the Sacred Heart in Ancona is a place of reflection frequented by many faithful who leave flowers and prayer intentions there.