His parents were József István Ferenczy and Terézia Kovács. He entered the Cistercian Order on August 29, 1937. He took his first vows on August 30, 1938, and his final vows on January 4, 1944. He was ordained a priest on May 16, 1944, by Bishop József Mindszenty of Veszprém. He completed his theological studies at the Order’s college in Zirc. He earned a bachelor’s and doctoral degree in Hungarian and French at Pázmány Péter Royal University. On September 12, 1948, he left Hungary in the Rohonc area, then spent a short time studying church music in Rome, and arrived in New York on May 2, 1949. He studied music at the Milwaukee Conservatory in Wisconsin. He was an outstanding pianist.

Az Exordium Magnum In. Primitiae 1939-1949. 174–189. (kézirat)