Toulouse was the scene of his first missionary labours, and he became known as l'Abbe MacCarthy, and was referred to also as l'Abbe de Levignac, after an estate which his father had purchased near Bordeaux, Gironde.
In Toulouse, he undertook his first missionary work, which earned him the moniker l'Abbe MacCarthy. He was also known as l'Abbe de Levignac, a title derived from an estate his father purchased in the vicinity of Bordeaux, Gironde.