The Franco-Swiss Province is the mother Province of the whole Congregation. The first mother house, “La Feuillette” (Annecy) was built in 1837. The first batch of missionaries leaved Savoy to reach the shores of India in 1845. In 1860, Savoy was integrated into the French republic. In 1903, the French government expelled all religious Congregations; our confreres found a shelter in the neighbourhood, especially in the french speaking part of Switzerland. Till 1903, the young MSFS studied philosophy and theology with the diocesan at the Annecy Seminary. Then, a house of formation called “Villa Bonlieu” was built in Fribourg, where the Catholic University ruled by the Dominicans just opened its doors.

The confreres who were teachers had to leave the schools of Evian and Mélan; some of them answered to a call from Geneva: many catholic families wanted to have a catholic school there. 1905 was the beginning of “Institut Florimont”. Other confreres, rather mission preachers, helped the diocese for the creation of new catholic parishes around Geneva city. A minor seminary, “La Corbière”, near Estavayer-le-Lac, welcomed young candidates from 1946 till 1988, then it was closed. On the french side, the minor seminary of Ville-la-Grand opened its doors in 1920 and became a secondary school, the one of Bourogne (Belfort) in 1932 (till the 60’s). The venture of Dreiborn (Luxemburg) was a possible expansion of the Congregation to the German speaking countries, but the Second World War stopped it suddenly.