The activities carried out inside the diocese and his intellectual skills (reported by his superiors) managed to bring him closer to Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo, who was then in Calabria, busy in recruiting militias, which would form the Christian Royal Army, (, later known as Army of Holy Faith ). Ruffo wanted him to join the espedition, hiring him as undersecretary (), with a wage of twenty ducats per monthGiovanni Maresca, Carteggio del Cardinale Fabrizio Ruffo, con Lord Acton e la regina Maria Carolina. ASPN, Anno VIII, Fasc. II, (1983) pag. 289.
