The two priests had left their native Switzerland in July of that year. They arrived in Milwaukee, where Bishop John Martin Henni, a fellow countryman, welcomed them to work among the immigrants in the diocese. But the two priests had not come to work with immigrants; they had come to establish the Capuchin Order in the United States, even though they themselves were not yet Capuchins. The two priests bought the property on Mount Calvary. The 29-year-old Haas returned to Europe to beg funds and to bring back a Capuchin to serve as novice master for him and Frey and any other candidates who joined them. The 25-year-old Frey began building the friary for the first Capuchin foundation in the United States.