His father was János Stéfán, a priest, and his mother was Emília Nizsalovszky. He was born in Nyéresháza (Máramaros County) on January 25, 1866. His wife was Anna Csucska, the daughter of Péter Csucska, a priest; they had five children. He pursued his theological studies in Uzhhorod. In 1893, he was ordained a priest by Bishop Gyula Firczák of Munkács. He emigrated to the United States in 1900, returned in 1905, and then, according to some sources, emigrated again in 1911 but died that same year; however, according to other newspaper sources, he died in Antalóc.
During his time serving in Bayonne, in 1901, he baptized the future Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich (1901–1927) at St. John’s Greek Catholic Church. In 1902, he was appointed the first resident pastor of the Greek Catholic community in New Britain, Connecticut. During his tenure, the community’s first church—a wood-framed structure on Beaver Street—was built, primarily as a result of his organizational efforts.