His parents, Károly Papp, a Greek Catholic, and Rózsa Frida Weisz, of Jewish descent, were residents of Gyula. He was baptized by Vilmos Apor. He completed his high school studies in Gyula and then studied philosophy at Pázmány Péter University. In 1936, he set out for Brazil with three companions. From 1936 to 1939, he was a student at the São Antônio Seminary in the city of São Luís, in the state of Maranhão—a seminary that is still in operation today—and was ordained a priest on December 8, 1939, by Archbishop Dom Carlos Carmeo de Vesconcellos Motta. In addition to his clerical duties, he held public office, such as serving as head of the Minors’ Assistance Service in the Matos Carvalho administration. From April 21, 1949, to December 31, 1955, he served as a prison chaplain. He worked in the field of education at various educational institutions as a consultant and spent approximately nine years working at the Prefecture of the city of São Luís.