Having relied on ‘borrowed women’ to complement the work of his missionaries in Kenya, Fr. Allamano was aware that he could not borrow Cottolengo or Vincentian Sisters forever. He had to do something about the issue. He was however in a fix, as at the time, there were already complains in the Church about the existence of too many female religious institutes and orders. In fact, the Holy See seemed determined to discourage foundation of more. The truth however was that the activities of the Consolata Missionaries required the presence of women urgently. The expansion of the mission had necessitated more female personnel, and the Cottolengo Congregation was in no position to continue sending religious persons any longer. In any case, there were already problems with the ones who were available. This is not to say that the sisters had problems, but that something was not working well between them and Bishop Perlo.
To be honest, the Vincentian sisters from Cottolengo had done a lot. They had been going from village to village helping the sick. Bishop Perlo however wanted people who could do literally everything. He needed Sisters who could help the sick, teach catechism in local language, do the laundry, teach in school, etc. Certainly, the bishop was going overboard. The sisters had been formed to work with the sick, and everybody praised their service including the bishop himself. However, demanding that they were supposed to do other tasks was a bit demanding too much. The sisters had been trained to work in Europe, and therefore their acceptance to come in Africa was a real sacrifice. They had to adjust themselves to fit in a program they had not been prepared for and hence it was only fair to understand them. Bishop Perlo however could take none of that. He wanted people who could obey without questions.
What Bishop Perlo did not know was that his hyperactive personality was creating burdens for the Founder who had to clean up the mess by first looking for ways to reconcile with the Cottolengo fraternity even if they would not send any more sisters, and secondly looking for ways to get other missionary sisters. Fr. Allamano had it rough. At the end he had no option but to think of an option he had never thought deeply about: starting his own female religious and missionary institute. True, there had been girls who had appeared in the Consolata Shrine requesting to be accepted, but owing to the fact that the Institute could only receive male persons, they had been re-directed elsewhere. With all alternatives seemingly closed, Fr. Allamano turned to Rome.
In September 1909 when the Founder and Filippo Perlo visited Rome after the erection of the Vicariate Apostolic, he shared the issue with Cardinal Gotti, who was the head of the congregation for the propagation of faith (Propaganda Fide) at the time. Cardinal Gotti was aware of the prevailing coldness about that issue, but he also recognized that the case of the Consolata Missionary Institute was unique: the personnel needed were not just any sisters – but missionaries and specialists. The two also shared about the issue in the audience granted to Fr. Allamano and the new Bishop Perlo by Pope Pius X. The result was that they left Roma a happy lot: they had been given a go ahead to start a female Missionary Institute.
The journey to Turin was a joyous one, as Fr. Allamano meditated the mysterious acts of God: somehow, he was overcoming big hurdles of which even himself doubted his own capacity. How could he explain the calm acceptance of his suggestion to start a religious and missionary institute when everyone knew that the Church at the time was not in favour of more female institutes? The Founder could not avoid a smile in his heart: truly for God all is possible. With God having given him a nod, the Founder brought the reality of the female religious and Missionary institute to fruition on 29th January 1910. To begin his new project, Fr. Allamano called on Sr. Celestina Bianco and Sr. Dorotea Marchisio of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph to start the work. The two did not have any candidate, so practically the Consolata Sisters Missionary Institute came into existence without sisters. Its growth was however very fast. By mid May there were already seven girls, fifteen at the close of the year, and by 1911, there were more than thirty. In truth, there could have been more girls, but Fr. Allamano did not loosen his rigour in selecting them. He was aware of what awaited them in Africa, so if one did not radiate the signs of missionary zeal, he quickly denied her request to join the institute.
The new religious Institute had its residence in Corso Duca di Genova, in what was called the Consolatina. In October 1912 during the month of October however, the sisters moved to the newly constructed house at Corso Ferrucci, which was then onwards referred to as the Mother House. Once there, the Consolata sisters took the place of the Sisters of St. Gaetano, who had been doing the housework. Their progress in religious life like their numbers went on growing. At the beginning of April 1913, the first eleven sisters made their religious profession and on 11th May Sr. Celestina Bianco of the St. Joseph’s Sisters gave up her job as the initiator. The Consolata Sisters got their own internal superior: Sr. Margherita Demaria who had the title of Vice Superior, as the Founder remained as the Superior with all administrative powers. With the Sisters’ Institute now a reality, the anxiety and confusion that had developed after Cottolengo Sisters stopped being sent to Africa died away. On 3rd November 1913 the first group of the Consolata Sisters left Italy for Africa. They were fifteen of them and three male missionaries.