His parents were Ferenc Pfemeter and Erzsébet Lehner; he had seven siblings and was the youngest. He already had a brother named János, but he died shortly after his birth in 1915.
He began his novitiate in 1938, took his perpetual vows in 1945, and was ordained a priest that same year. He left the country in 1956. On July 26, 1970, he entered the Trappist Order.