in 1865, he returned to the united states and served villanova college as a teacher, prefect of studies, archivist, secretary and socius of the province, and, from 1865 to 1923, the college’s first librarian. he was the tenth president of villanova college, from 1876 to 1878, as well as first president of the american catholic historical society of philadelphia, an organization he helped to found in 1884.