Born in Rodna, a village in Transylvania's Bistrița-Năsăud County, he came from a poor peasant family called "Șteopan", but was raised by his grandfather, the priest Gherasim Porcu (Latinized as Porcius), whose name he took by adoption.
Born in Rodna, a village in Transylvania's Bistrița-Năsăud County, he came from a poor peasant family, and his parents were Precup Șteopan and his wife Ioana. He was raised by his grandfather, the priest Gherasim Porcu (Latinized as Porcius), whose name he took by adoption.