He remained there until he received an invitation from a fellow alumnus of the Basilian college, the recently installed Bishop of Toronto Armand-François-Marie de Charbonnel, to establish a school in his rapidly growing city.

[2] Just one year earlier, in 1851, also at the invitation of Bishop Charbonnel, five priests of the Christian Brothers Order had arrived in Toronto and established De La Salle College, which at the time was located at Lombard and Jarvis Streets.

Soulerin and his team initially founded two institutions: St. Michael's College, which was to serve students at the secondary and collegiate levels, and St. Mary's Lesser Seminary, which was to prepare young men for the priesthood.

However, as the college began to grow beyond its means, with over fifty students its second year, Soulerin recognized the necessity to find a campus of their own.

In securing a substantial lot of property in what was then beyond the city's northern limits from the wealthy statesman and Catholic convert Captain John Elmsley, Soulerin re-established the college and adjacent St.

The college quickly began to flourish in its new home, and Soulerin oversaw its continual early expansion as its capable administrator.

Basil's Novitiate which began to attract Catholic students from both across eastern Canada and the United States, particularly upstate New York.

Soulerin House is the honorary name of the fourth floor of Elmsley Hall, one of St. Michael's undergraduate residence buildings.