Don Vittorio Pastori

Don Vittorio was born on 15 April 1926 in Varese, Lombardy.
In the early 1950s, Vittorio Pastori opened a renowned restaurant in his city, dedicating himself to a flourishing commercial activity that would keep him busy for 15 years. It is right here, in Varese, that Vittorio met Msgr. in 1966. Enrico Manfredini, who entrusted him with the role of Administrator of the Basilica, of the diocesan printing press and of the parish works.
The friendship between the two strengthened over the years, so much so that in 1969 Monsignor Manfredini, designated Bishop of Piacenza, invited Don Vittorio to follow him: the restaurateur accepted with enthusiasm, leaving his entrepreneurial activity to carry out the role of Administrative Secretary of the canteen bishop, bursar of the seminary and director of a retreat house. 
In this period he met some African bishops. He thus visited Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and other countries of the Sub-Saharan continent, remaining deeply impressed by the living conditions of the local populations and the work carried out by the Catholic Church and its workers (fathers, nuns, doctors, volunteers).
His awareness translates into the immediate anxiety of materially helping these populations, making Italians aware of the reality of these areas and at the same time finding financial and in-kind resources (ploughs, tractors, mechanical, agricultural and sanitary tools) from Italy upon specific request to support its work.
In 1972 with some friends he founded the AFRICA MISSION association in Piacenza and continued his activity as a charity commuter between Italy and Africa. At the same time he establishes together with the Hon. Giulio Andreotti and Monsignor Enrico Manfredini the ''Friends of Uganda Committee'', based in Piacenza. Numerous aids were transported by plane and container by sea. 
In 1982, COOPERAZIONE E SSVILUPPO was established, an NGO which with specialized technicians immediately created new drinking water wells, repairing existing ones.

On 16 December 1983 Monsignor Manfredini died suddenly in Bologna. A difficult test for Vittorio, who however continues his work fulfilling a deep and long-awaited desire: on 15 September 1984, Vittorio Pastori was ordained a priest by His Excellency Mons. Cipriano Kihangire, Bishop of Gulu.
''The poor cannot wait. Whoever is hungry is hungry immediately''. Thus, as a priest, Don Vittorio carries out his mission at the service of the hungry and the marginalized, especially in the Third World, without separating the spiritual aspects from the material ones. According to need, Don Vittorio spends long periods in Uganda, reporting his presence in Christian groups and communities in Italy. 
In 1988 he made 137 trips to Africa: here he met President Museweni and Mother Teresa of Calcutta with whom he started a solidarity bridge. Meanwhile in Moroto he inaugurates the ''citadel of charity'' which will then be dedicated to his memory in front of the president of the Ugandan Episcopal Conference Monsignor Emmanuel Wamala and the Apostolic Nuncio Monsignor Rauber.
On 12 April 1989, Don Vittorio concelebrated the Holy Mass with the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, in Rome.
1994, however, marked Don Vittorio's 147th and last trip to Uganda. On 2 September of that year, Don Vittorio Pastori died at the S. Giacomo clinic in Ponte Dell'Olio (PC) after a long hospital stay.