His father was a distinguished citizen of the Swiss republic, a major in the army and the owner of a publishing house.

Additionally, he took private lessons in theology and history from Johannes Janssen, a priest and historian.

Likewise, he met Joseph Hergenröther in Frankfurt, a church historian who would later become a cardinal, and he chose him to be his confessor.

The father first objected to this request, so he sent his son to Downside College in Bath, England, to study languages after boarding school at the Institute Saint-Louis in Brussels.

He joined the Bruges Carmelite convent in 1884 against his father's wishes, and on May 28, 1885, he professed his vows there, taking the name Alosiyus Maria Benziger.