[2] He received his confirmation on 13 August 1857 and later joined the Garibaldian Volunteers in the War of 1866, wearing his red shirt under his cassock for years afterwards.

[4] Richelmy received his episcopal consecration on the following 28 October from Cardinal Gaetano Alimonda, with Bishops Davide Riccardi and Giovanni Bertagna serving as co-consecrators.

In 1915, when Italy entered World War I, Richelmy organized priests for duty as army chaplains in the mountains of Trentino, where they carved altars out of snow and said Mass in below-zero temperatures.

He was initially buried at the chapel for the clergy in the Turin cemetery, but his remains were transferred in 1927 to the Santuario della Consolata, where they lie in a pink marble sarcophagus.

Several of his letters and sermons were later published including; For his work during WWI, he was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.