Fr. Antonio Bernardo, CPPS, was born in Colledanchise (Campobasso – Molise) on January 5, 1933. His father was Filomeno and his mother Nicolina. He was baptized on February 5, 1933, in the church of St. Mary of the Angels, in Colledanchise.  In 1946 he entered the Congregation and he started secondary school at Ancona and then Albano and Rome, where he also studied Philosophy and Theology. He was incorporated into the Congregation on January 6, 1956, and ordained a priest on July 5, 1959. The ordination ceremony was held at St. Prassede Basilica on the Esquilino hill.

His first appointment was in Ancona, where he was an assistant in the orphanage.  He was then appointed to Precious Blood parishes in Ferrara and then to Florence. While in Florence he experienced the tragic flood of 1966 and actively took part in the humanitarian relief. In 1967 he was appointed as an assistant pastor at St. Gaspar Parish in Rome, where he was responsible for the building of the parish complex.

In 1975 he was appointed the director of the Pious Union of the Blood of Christ and was the director for the office for the Foreign Missions of the Province.  From 1978 to 1996 he worked for the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, guiding groups especially to Lourdes and the Holy Land. On August 5, 1987, Fr. Beniamino Conti, who was the Provincial at that time, wrote to the bishop of Tarbes, asking him to honor Fr. Antonio with the title of Honorary Chaplain of Lourdes.

In the last three years of his life his health condition began deteriorating.  He was cared for by many CPPS members and students.  However, in June 2014 it was decided to move him to Albano to receive medical care due to problems with his heart and kidneys.  On the morning of July 15, at 7.30, Fr Antonio went to sing canticles of the Lamb, in the eternal Jerusalem, after leading countless times pilgrimages to Lourdes and to the Holy City of Jerusalem.