The Capuchin Province of St. Joseph began its Detroit ministry on Mt. Elliott Street in 1883 and developed a religious mission to live and work among the poor. The friars were offshoots of the Capuchin Order in Switzerland, spiritual advisers and confessors who found a home in the area of Detroit once known as Russell's Grove. It was common to see the friars traveling via horse and buggy. They would reach out to parishioners as far away as Roseville - a trip that was then a whole day's journey.