Once the decision was made to accept the mission in far away Texas, the General Administration of the Society of Mary had to look for personnel. Four men were chosen for the new undertaking. Brother Andrew Edel, born in Colmar, France in 1813, entered the Society at age 16 and knew the founder, Blessed William Joseph Chaminade. In 1849 he was chosen to begin a new mission in Ohio.

A professor of botany, agriculture and horticulture, Edel was a man of solid piety with a deep sense of duty. By the time he was sent to Texas in 1852 he spoke German, French and English and had adapted to American ways. He was a methodical organizer; it was his energy and efforts which led to the building of St. Mary’s Institute and the acquisition of Mission Concepción. Brother Edel turned the leadership of the school over to Brother Charles Francis in 1866 and returned to Dayton where he died in 1891. Three other Marianists were sent from France and arrived in Galveston on May 18, 1852.

Brother Jean Baptiste Laignoux was born in Marciac, France in 1812. He had sung in operas and at concerts before joining the Marianists when he was 29. After various assignments in different schools, he was chosen to go to America, partly because he already knew Spanish. He remained in San Antonio until he was transferred to Dayton in 1858. He taught in several schools, mainly in Ohio, and died in Dayton in 1880. Brother Xavier Mauclerc was the youngest in profession, having entered the Society of Mary in 1850 as a seminarian. He was sent to America with the understanding that he would be ordained in Galveston.

Mauclerc was born in Villers-Farley (Jura), France in 1817. When the religious left Galveston for San Antonio, Mauclerc remained and was ordained by Bishop Odin on July 16. In San Antonio, convinced his clerical status gave him certain authority, he was often at odds with Brother Edel. Mauclerc left San Antonio in 1854 and worked several years in Wisconsin before returning to France, where he died at St. Remy in 1876.

The third man from France was Brother Nicholas Koenig, born in 1825 at Breitenbach (Haute-Rhin). He made his first profession in 1847 and had little teaching experience when he sailed for America. However, his native tongue was German, and the superiors believed the new work in Texas would mainly be for persons of German ancestry. Brother Koenig, in fact, had the most difficulty trying to learn Spanish and was not unhappy when he was transferred in 1858 to Cleveland. He had a long and productive religious life and died in Dayton in 1905.