During his presidency at Santa Clara University in California United States he had built the Science Building, a Jesuit Residence, and the Facade of the Old Mission Church.

[5] That afternoon, he was baptized at the local parish church by the pastor, a Benedictine priest from Engelberg Abbey, and he was given the Christian name of Joseph Burchard.

Villiger was confirmed by the Apostolic Nuncio to Switzerland, Archbishop Ignazio Nasalli-Ratti [it], when he was eighteen months old at a church in the town of Cham.

[8] When he was 11 years old, Villiger was sent to live with his cousin, a priest, in Abtwyl to pursue higher studies and discern a religious vocation.

In 1842, Villiger went to Fribourg to study philosophy and physics and in 1844, returned to Jesuit college in Schwyz as the first prefect and as a teacher of mathematics.

[10] Villiger became the president of the Washington Seminary, later known as Gonzaga College High School, on August 15, 1857,[14] succeeding Hippolyte J.

[16] Villiger's term as provincial came to an end on November 28, 1859, with the arrival of Felix Sopranis as the Jesuit visitor for North America.