Sarpi was assigned to a monastery in Mantua around 1567. In 1570 he sustained theses at a disputation there, and was invited to remain as court theologian to Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga. Sarpi remained four years at Mantua, studying mathematics and oriental languages. He then went to Milan in 1575, where he was an adviser to Charles Borromeo, the saint and bishop but was transferred by his superiors to Venice, as professor of philosophy at the Servite convent. In 1579, he became Provincial of the Venetian Province of the Servite order, while studying at the University of Padua. At the age of twenty-seven he was appointed Procurator General for the order. In this capacity he was sent to Rome, where he interacted with three successive popes, as well as the grand inquisitor and other influential people.