 Whilst he studied there he was an active member of the college's Severino Boezio Club for Catholic Action.He also belonged to the Società San Vincenzo de' Paoli and the Third Order of Saint Francis which he joined as a secular on 20 March 1921 in the name of "Antonio" at the Franciscan convent of Canepanova in Pavia.Between 1 April 1917 and 1920 he was in the fighting zone in World War I where he worked in the field hospitals.