Some information about Tarsus Parish:
On June 25, 1905, Andrieux was ordained to the priesthood and left for the United States in 1906. He first reported to the Fargo Diocese under the leadership of the Most Reverend Bishop James O'Reilly.
Most Reverend Bishop James O'Reilly sent Andrieux to Bottineau County where he would take over a church in the village of Tarsus, which was a small French speaking community.
Andrieux's introduction to North Dakota was a learning experience he would never forget. He left Fargo on a nice day in late October/early November but by the time he entered into Bottineau County he was surrounded by a blinding blizzard. On horse, he made his way to Tarsus, but in the storm he lost his direction and ended up on a small farm about one-mile east out of Bottineau (the present day home of Lawrence and Betty Jordan).
With the snow and wind being relentless, the Catholic priest spent his night in Bottineau County in a home owned by a Protestant farmer. The next day, the local farmer guided Andrieux to Tarsus where he discovered another hardship. In the late 1890s, the Catholic church in Tarsus was lost to fire. In 1899, construction started on a new church, but the French speaking Catholic community was having difficulty in raising the money to finish the church.
When Andrieux arrived that morning after the blizzard, he thought there was a church with his parish, but discovered his church (and home) was a basement covered with boards for a roof.
For the first year, Andrieux lived and held services in the basement of the future church, but worked hard to raise the money to re-start construction, which he did, and quickly. By the summer of 1907, the church was constructed and ready for service.
In 1910, O'Reilly sent Andrieux to Bottineau to become the priest of St. Marks.