A
Memorial Mass is scheduled August 30, 10:00 a.m. at Holy Angels in Arcadia for
Fr. Stuart Long, 50, who died June 9 in Helena, Montana after a long illness. Fr. Stu joined Holy Angels through the RCIA
and was a longtime parishioner there before becoming a priest.
Fr.
Stu felt a call to the priesthood as he was baptized in 1994 at Holy Angels by
Monsignor Norm Priebe, and decided to teach Religion at Bishop Alemany High
School in Mission Hills for three years before entering the seminary. Fr. Stu also coached wrestling.
Fr.
Stu graduated from Carroll College in Helena, Montana, playing Saints football
for two years and developing a passion for boxing, in which he excelled. He won the 1985 Golden Gloves heavyweight
title for Montana and was runner-up in 1986, the year he graduated from
Carroll, having earned a degree in English literature and writing.
Although
Fr. Stu studied at a Catholic college, at the time he wasn’t a believer. His indignant attitude toward faith often
caused disruption on campus, antagonizing priests and fellow students. Fr. Stu later described it as carrying a “huge grudge” as he wasn’t concerned about taking his frustration out on others.
After
graduation, Fr. Stu channeled his aggression to plan a career as a prizefighter,
but that was nipped in the bud by reconstructive jaw surgery after a fight, so
at his mom’s suggestion he moved to Los Angeles intent on breaking into the
movies. As Fr. Stu once said in
retrospect (quoting from St. Augustine’s Confessions),
“God was working behind the scenes. He
was with me but I was outside”.
Though
he made some commercials and had a few bit parts, Fr. Stu became disillusioned
with the seedy industry and eventually took a position with the Norton Simon
Museum in Pasadena, where he rose to become manager.
Riding
his motorcycle home from the museum one evening, he was struck by a car at
freeway speed, then run over by another. The emergency room doctors left little hope
for survival. His father and girlfriend
were summoned to pay their last respects.
It
was at this fragile point of his life, as it was hanging by a thread, when God
finally got Fr. Stu’s attention. He
later described “mysterious encounters” which would inextricably change
his life forever. This close brush with death was the turning
point that prompted an exploration of a religious faith he once deplored, ultimately
leading to his baptism as a Roman Catholic.
He miraculously left the hospital one week later and approached the
nearest Catholic Church. There Stu met a
holy priest who took him under his wing and guided him through RCIA.
During
his conversion Fr. Stu was influenced and deeply moved by the lives of the
saints especially St. Francis, St, Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Padre
Pio. He developed a deep love for the
Tradition of the Church and appreciated the spirit of the martyrs. He joined his parish Legion of Mary, acquiring
a Marian spirituality while participating in door to door, pro-life, hospital
and homeless ministries. He also
helped spearhead a community effort that effectively stopped the construction of a
proposed Planned Parenthood clinic in the City of Monrovia, CA.
Fr.
Stu flourished, absorbed with the love of Christ and graced with a desire to
share it; he brought the faith to others.
He accredited effective evangelization to sound Church teaching often
quipping, “People are ultimately drawn to the Truth”.
His
mentor, Fr. Benedict Groeschel C.F.R., fostered his devotion to St. Francis,
but Stu was too old at that time in his life to join the Franciscan community. So at his spiritual director’s suggestion (and
insistence for an “orthodox” formation) he enrolled at Franciscan University in
Steubenville, Ohio.
There
Fr. Stu earned a Master’s degree in philosophy and then received his priestly
formation for the Diocese of Helena at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon. He was
ordained a priest by Bishop Thomas on Dec. 14, 2007, at the Cathedral of St.
Helena.
While
a seminarian at Mount Angel, Fr. Stu underwent surgery to remove a tumor
discovered on his hip. He was diagnosed with inclusion body myositis, an
extremely rare autoimmune disease that mimics the symptoms of ALS, Lou Gehrig’s
disease, and for which there is no cure. By the time of his ordination, Father
Stu was walking with the aid of crutches.
Father Stu found his great love serving as a priest, administering the
sacraments and counseling his flock.
As
his illness weakened him the diocese of Helena brought him home in 2010, where
Father Stu took up a new life and ministry at Big Sky Care Center. Now using a
power chair, and with the tireless assistance of his dad, Bill Long, Father Stu
spread the faith throughout Helena’s parishes. He celebrated Mass regularly at
St. Mary’s and Big Sky Care Center, as well as traveling wherever asked to
perform the duties of his calling. His
Masses were known to be very devout and his homilies very faithful to Christ
and His Church.
Father
Stu brought a servant’s heart to each and every minute of his ministry, his
love increasing in power as physical strength declined. Father Stu became a
beloved priest, confessor and friend to countless people. He taught by example,
willingly accepting the pain and weakness each day brought; Stu said it was the
best thing that ever happened to him, because it allowed him to shed the pride
he had felt for most of his life.
Fr.
Stu’s physical suffering sanctified him.
He endured his pain without complaint, giving thanks to God always. Fr. Stu’s witness brought dozens (if not
hundreds) of Montanans into the Church as was evident by the overflow crowd and
personal testimony of those who attended his funeral.
Father
Stu will be missed, but his legacy of love and selflessness lives on in the
hearts and minds of all he served. Many
on the Diocese of Helena feel he will someday be a canonized saint, a true priest.
He
is survived by his parents, Bill and Kathleen Long; siblings Jennifer, Scott
(Kathy) and Amy (Tom) from Corona; and many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and
cousins.
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