1845: Brother Philippe (Superior General) wrote to Archbishop Eccleston of Baltimore to request that the Christian Brothers be allowed to open a novitiate in Baltimore for American candidates, rather than compelling them to make the arduous journey to Montreal for this training.

Brother Angelus Gabriel (FSC), The Christian Brothers in the United States (1848-1948): A Century of Catholic Education (NY: Declan McMullen, 1948), p. 84.