His parents were János Laurisin, a Greek Catholic priest and a priest in the National Guard during the 1848–49 War of Independence, and Emília Ilniczky; he had five siblings. His older brother was Ágoston Laurisin, a Greek Catholic priest. His wife was Mária Volkay (1859–1905), and they had one child, Anna. He completed his theological studies in Uzhhorod. On October 5, 1881, he was ordained a priest by János Pasztélyi Kovács, Bishop of Munkács. In 1891, he emigrated to the United States. He had numerous disputes with the first Greek Catholic American bishop, Bishop Soter Stephen Ortynsky de Labetz, O.S.B.M., who was of Ruthenian descent and did not favor Hungarians. In 1912, as a result of these disputes, he was recalled to Hungary, but later returned. From 1916, he served as honorary dean.