The Catholic lay religious congregation of pontifical right for men was established by Saint Jean-Baptiste when it first came to Turkey in 1841.

Pensionnat Saint-Joseph, a school for boys, was first established in Pera, now Beyoğlu, in 1857.

Its successor Frères des Ecoles Chrétiennes was established in 1860.

At one time it moved to a rental property in Moda, Kadıköy but in 1864 it returned to Pera as it could no longer occupy the building, as the owner had sold it to someone else.

[1] He also rebuilt a school in Akarca that was destroyed in the August 17, 1999 earthquake.