Nobili entered the Society of Jesus in 1828 and taught humanities in Jesuit colleges in Italy, notably the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
Upon his arrival in San Jose, Archbishop Joseph Alemany appointed him the pastor of Mission Santa Clara, then recently acquired from the Franciscans.
During Nobili's tenure as president, a new academic building and dormitory (1854), a gymnasium (1855), and a small gothic chapel (1856) were constructed.
According to the 1854-55 Catalogue, he also directed the purchase of a "new and complete philosophical and chemical apparatus, comprising all the recent improvements" previously unavailable in California.
Archbishop Alemany presided over his funeral Mass and laid his body to rest near the altar of the unfinished chapel.