Ferdinand entered the Society of Jesus in 1817, and at the close of his novitiate was appointed professor and prefect of studies in the high school of Brig, Switzerland.
After several years, he was summoned to Rome to act as assistant secretary to the father general of the order, and subsequently was assigned to the American mission.
Helias arrived in the United States, 19 May 1833, and was immediately appointed master of novices in the Jesuit college, Frederick, Maryland.
Shortly afterward he organized at St. Louis, Missouri, a German congregation, which, through his labors, became one of the largest in the country.
From Washington he made his way through the wilderness, with compass in hand, to Westphalia, Osage County, where he organized a church and founded a mission.