He attended elementary school at the Greek Catholic school in his hometown, and then attended a Romanian secondary school there for five years. He completed grades 6–8 of high school in Germany at the Dietrich Eckart School in Dresden, where he graduated. From 1966 to 1970, he studied theology in La Ceja, Colombia, at the national seminary, which was primarily established for adults. On October 17, 1970, he was ordained a priest by Msgr. Alfonso Uribe Jaramillo, Bishop of Sonsón-Rionegro, who incardinated him into his own diocese. From 1971 to 1973, he was a scholarship student in Innsbruck. In Caracas, he was supported by the Hungarian Catholic community (Comunidad Católica de Habla Húngara Mindszenty, Caracas) and lived in relatively modest circumstances.

Katolikus Értesítő – Colonia Catholica Hungara. A caracasi Mindszenty Egyházközösség hitéleti lapja – szerkesztő