Saint Charles of Mount Argus was born John Andrew Houben on December 11, 1821 in the village of Munstergeleen, Holland.  In 1841, he was enrolled for military service and while in the army, he heard of the Passionists and decided to join them.  With the military service completed in 1845, Andrew joined the Passionists at Ere, in Belgium.  He was ordained on December 21 1850 in Tournai and in 1852 he was sent to England where he first encountered the Irish who were emigrating in the wake of the Famine.  He was transferred to Ireland and on July 9, 1857, he arrived at the newly-founded monastery of Mount Argus in Dublin.