In his childhood the pious Stanggassinger announced that he would become a priest in due course when he grew older and he often liked to pretend that he was a priest. He liked to gather other children and adolescents during periods of vacation and would go to Mass with them or hike or do other activities. On one occasion a friend was in danger of falling while mountain climbing but he risked his life to see him safe and sound. In 1887 he made a private vow to remain chaste and in 1889 contracted a serious illness but recovered and so consecrated himself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. He first attended a high school in Freising and completed his studies there on 7 January 1890 before beginning his studies for the priesthood on 22 November 1890 in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. But he struggled with his studies and so his father issued him with an ultimatum: finish his studies and buckle down or leave and find work someplace. He In 1890 he visited Vienna and Innsbruck and made other trips to places such as Munich and Salzburg. On 2 April 1892 he received the tonsure and the minor orders. That summer he went on pilgrimage to a Marian shrine in the nation's south and there experienced a strong urge to join the Redemptorists.