[2] His family moved to Los Angeles when he was a child, and he attended St. Bede the Venerable Church and Elementary School in La Cañada, Flintridge.

Elshoff then attended St. Francis High School in La Cañada Flintridge, California, which was operated by the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin.

He entered their seminary at the Dominicans' St. Albert the Great Priory in Oakland, California, professing solemn vows on September 22, 1979.

[3] Elshoff was ordained a priest by Cardinal Timothy Manning for the Capuchin Order on June 18, 1982, at St. Bede the Venerable Church in La Canada.

[7] Returning to California, Elshoff then served as a teacher, chaplain, counselor, and president at St. Francis High School.