 Boccardo served as a simple parish priest in Turin and was noted for his commitment to religious vocations as well as for his devotion to methods of evangelization for the faithful under his charge.He has been nicknamed the "Apostle of Merciful Love".His beatification cause commenced after his death and - upon the approval of Pope Benedict XVI - was beatified on 14 April 2007; Cardinal José Saraiva Martins presided over it on the behalf of the pope in Turin.