He completed his studies in Vienna and Innsbruck. He was ordained a priest on July 26, 1912. He earned a doctorate in theology in Vienna. He arrived in the United States on July 2, 1920, aboard the steamship SS Rotterdam. After a brief period of service, he left the priesthood. He then worked in secular professions until 1924 (translator, chicken farmer, private secretary). In 1923, he converted to the Reformed Church and subsequently served as a pastor in several locations across the United States. From 1935, he was in Salt Lake City, UT; from 1944, he was a professor at the University of California. He married at this time; his first wife was Anna Molnár, from whom he later divorced; according to other sources, he was widowed and remarried; his second wife was named Alice M. Shipp. They had four children in total, who bore the Tornay surname. His pen name was Stephen Chak Tornay. His father was the general secretary of the Opera and died in 1902; his mother was a ballerina. Two of his brothers became priests, but both left the priesthood; two of his three sisters became nuns.

1915-1916 Örökimádás – folyóirat – szerkesztő
1917 Postagalamb – folyóirat – szerkesztő
1918-1919 a Budapest-Terézvárosi Katolikus Tudósító lap tulajdonosa és ügyvivő szerkesztője volt, később ugyanez Budapest Balparti Katolikus Tudósító néven futott tovább.
Cikkei megjelentek az Alkotmány, Esztergom, Katholikus nevelés, Magyar Kultúra, stb. lapokban.
Amerikában bölcsészeti tanulmányai jelentek meg számos újságban.