At the time, Turin was still recovering from the French occupation and under the pressure of intense immigration from the countryside, which caused serious social problems and poverty.

The city was rife with pauperism and beggary, illiteracy and recurrent epidemics, numerous illegitimate births and high infant mortality.

[2] At the age of forty-one, after reading the life of Vincent de Paul, he came to understand that his true vocation was that of charity.

[1] Affected by the scene and the cries of her surviving children, Cottolengo went and sold everything he owned, including his cloak, and rented two rooms.

He came to be assisted by Doctor Lorenzo Granetti, pharmacist Paul Royal Anglesio and twelve "Ladies of Charity", under the direction of the rich widow Marianna Nasi, who visited the sick.

Cottolengo then bought a house in Valdocco, on the outskirts of the city, and relocated there with two nuns and a patient suffering from cancer.

His legacy of charity stands today at the heart of Turin city as a sign of what it means to love and serve others in an evangelical way.

The Cottolengo religious community includes Fathers, Sisters, and Brothers who still work together in activities focused on communicating God's love for the poorest.