Valerio joins the Pallottines in Torino at the age of 16. The Pallotines are a Society of Apostolic Life group within the Roman Catholic Church founded in 1835 in Rome by Roman priest Saint Vincent Pallotti. The Pallotines were noted for their charitable work with the poor. It is important to note that Torino was at that time the capital city of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was ruled by the House of Savoy. Shortly after Valerio entered the priesthood, he worked for the alms giving organization set up by the House of Savoy and directed at that time by Valerio’s uncle, Monsignor Giuseppe Anzino.
Father Vincent Pallotti founder of the Pallottines