Missionaries of St. Francis De Sales have been present in USA for more than 50 years.
Confreres from Europe, England, India and USA have been in ministry in parishes in USA during this period of time. There has always been a desire to implant the Congregation in USA. Attempts had been made as early as 1935 to start some sort of mission in the country, but without success. In 1968, then Superior General, Fr. Adrien Duval, commissioned the provincial of the English province, to make renewed efforts to establish MSFS presence in USA. Finally in 1969, the archbishop of Atlanta assigned St Joseph’s parish in Athens to Fr. Gill Athens. In February 1970, the council of the EnglishProvince decided that Atlanta would be the most favorable location for establishing a foundation for the MSFS. Archbishop Thomas Donnellan entrusted the care of St. Patrick’s Church, Norcross, GA, to the MSFS on April 24, 1972 and the care of St. Lawrence Church, Lawrenceville, GA, on July 3, 1974. Fr. Ken Bayer, the first American MSFS priest was ordained in September 1975. In November 1974, Fr. Zacharias Mannukuzhumpil, then provincial of Visakhaptnam Province commissioned Fr. Kurian Aranjanil and Fr. Augustine Tharappel to establish a house of MSFS in USA. The project was abandoned in 1976 for lack of funds and personnel. The desire for implanting the Congregation in USA began to materialize more fully and in reality when Ken Bayer (1975), Martin Kopchik (1986), John DeVore (1986) and John Tiernan (1998) from USA joined the congregation and were ordained priests. In 1990, the American Mission of the Congregation became an autonomous mission directly under the authority of the Superior General with Fr. Ken Bayer as Mission Superior.

In 1996, Fr. Emile Mayoraz, Superior General, commissioned Fr. Augustine Tharappel, from South West India Province, to establish a ministry in USA, which was unique to the Fransalian charism in view of raising the then American Mission to a Region. After eighteen months of pastoral ministry, he established Wellspring, Fransalian Center for Spirituality, on January 24, 1998. On 03 January 2007, after prayerful discernment, a unanimous decision was made by the General Council and the collegiums of MSFS Provincials,
to raise the American Mission to that of a Region of the congregation under the direct authority of the Superior General.