 Maximin tried his vocation as a seminarian, and after that, he worked as a nursing-home employee and a medical student.Failing the state examinations, he went to work in a pharmacy.In 1865, the Marquise de Pignerolles gave him a trip to Rome, where in April, Maximin enlisted as member of the Corps of Papal Zouaves, who were responsible for the defense of the Papal States and the protection of the Pope.