 His father favoured a military career for him but, after passing some years at a nearby Jesuit college, he entered the Cistercian monastery of the Congregation of the Feuillants at Pinerolo in 1624.There, as also later at Rome, he pursued his studies with exceptional success.He laboured for fifteen years at Turin, then as prior at Asti and as abbot at Mondovi, and in 1651 was called to preside over the whole congregation as superior general.