Little is known of Pamfilo's life prior to his admission into the Franciscan Order, other than that he was born Giovanni Paulo Pietrobattista on 22 April 1824, in the village of Magliano de' Marsi, which is in the Province of L'Aquila in the mountainous Abruzzo region of central Italy.

When he was of age, on 5 July 1839, he entered the Province of St. Bernadine of Siena, based in Urbino, taking the name Pamfilo (possibly after St. Pamphilus of Sulmona).

On 8 December of that year, he began to teach at one of the Order's institutions of higher learning, the Irish College of St. Isidore, where he was able to perfect his command of English.

[1] At this point, in response to an invitation by John Timon, Bishop of Buffalo, seeking help in providing pastoral care to the European immigrants moving in large numbers to his territory, Pamfilo was sent to the United States by the Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor to establish their presence in the country.

[4] The academy drew young men who felt a religious calling to the Order, and with time Pamfilo was able to establish several communities of friars.

In addition to the establishment of the friars, he also worked to support and guide the communities of women of the Third Order of St. Francis, who were springing up around the country to help educate the children of the Catholic immigrants flooding into the nation.

When other women came to join her, he acted as the Superior General of the new foundation, until they were able to establish themselves as an independent congregation, known as the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany.

Your affectionate confrere, Pamfilo.Pamfilo devoted the remaining years of his life to writing and the publication of significant works, the most important being his Storia Compendiosa di San Francesco e dei Francescani in two substantial volumes.

Finally he was able to take refuge in Rome at the friary attached to the Church of San Pietro in Montorio, traditional site of the crucifixion of Saint Peter.