{"id":12299,"date":"2021-06-06T14:12:46","date_gmt":"2021-06-06T22:12:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/?p=12299"},"modified":"2021-06-06T20:38:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-07T04:38:00","slug":"father-stu-mark-wahlberg-mel-gibson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/2021\/06\/father-stu-mark-wahlberg-mel-gibson\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Father Stu’: Two Who Knew the Real Man Behind the New Mark Wahlberg\/Mel Gibson Movie"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Father<\/a>
(L-R) Father Stuart Long and his father, Bill Long<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

On June 9, 2014, Father Stuart Long, subject of Mark Wahlberg\u2019s upcoming movie Father Stu<\/em>, passed away at the age of 50 at the Big Sky Care Center in Helena, Montana. It was the end of a too-short life that saw him move from prizefighter to actor to museum manager to Catholic convert to Catholic priest.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the Story Behind the Father Stu<\/em> Movie?<\/h3>\n

For the last six years, actor Wahlberg \u2014 himself a Catholic revert \u2014 has been trying to launch a biopic of Father Stu, and the cameras are finally rolling<\/a>. Mel Gibson plays the part of Bill Long, Stu\u2019s father, and Gibson\u2019s romantic and professional partner, writer-director Rosalind Ross, is also doing both those jobs for Father Stu<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Teresa Ruiz (Narcos: Mexico<\/em>) co-stars, playing Stu\u2019s girlfriend (pre-ordination, of course).<\/p>\n

According to press reports<\/a>, the normally buff 49-year-old Wahlberg, who\u2019s a bit of a fitness fanatic, has buzzed his hair and gained 30 pounds for the role.<\/p>\n

Before his own religious conversion, Wahlberg led a rough life, including serious tangles with the law. As anyone familiar with Gibson knows, he produced The Passion of the Christ<\/em> (and is doing a sequel<\/a>), but his personal faith life is far from exemplary.<\/p>\n

So, maybe they\u2019re the perfect guys to tackle the up-and-down story of Father Stu.<\/p>\n

Who Was Father Stu?<\/h3>\n

Born in Seattle in 1963, Stuart Long moved as a toddler with his parents to their hometown of Helena. A high-school wrestler and football player, he went on to attend Carroll College, which is Catholic (but Stu was not). He also developed a passion for boxing and won Golden Gloves titles.<\/p>\n

A smashed jaw ended his boxing career, so Long headed to Los Angeles to break into movies. After minor success, he became disenchanted with the film industry (and working as a bouncer), so he went to work for the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, eventually becoming the manager.<\/p>\n

Long met a beautiful Catholic woman and was encouraged to convert to marry her, but fate \u2014 or God \u2014 intervened. The aftereffects of an earlier motorcycle accident had awakened his interest in religious faith, and then his baptism as a Catholic caused him to feel called to the priesthood.<\/p>\n

After a stint with the Capuchin Franciscans in New York (where he met Father Benedict Groeschel<\/a>), the friars sent Long to Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, where he earned a master\u2019s degree in philosophy.<\/p>\n

Long decided to become a priest for the Diocese of Helena and did his formation at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon. While there, he underwent surgery for a tumor on his hip. Subsequently, doctors discovered he had a rare autoimmune disease, inclusion body myositis<\/a>, which mimics ALS, or Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n

There is no cure. By the time he was ordained, Father Stu was already on crutches.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of power in redemptive suffering,\u00a0and that\u2019s exactly how he lived.\u201d Bishop George Thomas<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Bishop George Thomas, now at the Diocese of Las Vegas, was then the bishop of Helena, and he had a decision to make.<\/p>\n

In a Skype chat, he recalls, \u201cSo, my struggle was whether or not I would call him to Holy Orders, for a couple of reasons. One is, obviously, he\u2019d have a very short active priesthood; there are tremendous costs associated with this kind of care, a lot of question marks.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I kept being prompted by the Holy Spirit, moving forward the Holy Orders. And in my estimation, there\u2019s a lot of power in redemptive suffering, and that\u2019s exactly how he lived.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis priesthood was about six years altogether, and he was stunningly effective in those years. And things like, I\u2019d go to visit him at the rehab center, which was really a rehab nursing home. And it would not be unusual to have six or eight or 10 people lined up outside his room waiting to go to confession.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201c[Father Stu] Was Very Christlike.\u201d Father Sean Raftis<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

One of those was Father Sean Raftis, who\u2019s still serving the Diocese of Helena (and whose exploits with a group of friends loosely inspired the movie Tag<\/em> \u2014 more on that here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was my confessor for years,\u201d says Father Raftis in a phone chat, \u201cand my spiritual director. Stu was in this chair in a room at the Big Sky Care Center. I\u2019d always go there for confessions, and I\u2019d see lines of people waiting to talk to him, to get direction or just to visit.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, why?<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was very Christlike,\u201d says Father Raftis. \u201cIt was great, because he was a great priest, but he was like an old shoe, in a way. He could talk to anybody. He was just a very charismatic man. He just drew so many people to him. And it was very interesting, because the time he drew so many people to him is when he was suffering the most.\u201d<\/p>\n

Says Bishop Thomas, \u201cHis Masses were deeply moving. As his disease progressed, he became more and more debilitated. One of the most powerful images is, he had Mass at Carroll College for all the students. He was so weak at this stage that as he reads the Words of Institution [or Consecration] during the Mass, one of the students would take his hand and help lift up the Host.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cBy the time the last Easter Vigil of his life was to be celebrated, he had just so wanted his mom and dad to become Catholic.\u201d Bishop Thomas<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Father Stu not only brought friends and strangers to faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother image I have,\u201d says Bishop Thomas, \u201cthat literally is embedded in my memory was by the time the last Easter Vigil of his life was to be celebrated, he had just so wanted his mom and dad to become Catholic. So, they decided to be baptized at the Easter Vigil before his death.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was so weak at that time that he was on a gurney. They wheeled him into the cathedral, and he\u2019s just literally flat on his back. I had him brought back to the baptismal font, and I baptized his parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut as I did that, there were tears coming down his face. And I thought it was like the prayer, the Nunc Dimittis, \u201cNow you can dismiss your servant. Everything he wanted in life was his.\u201d So that was just again, a powerful, touching and beautiful image.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c[Wahlberg] said \u2026 \u2018I would like to do something beautiful for the Church.\u201d Bishop Thomas<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to Bishop Thomas, about six years ago, Wahlberg contacted him while he was still in Montana.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wanted to learn a little bit more about Father Stu\u2019s life, but also he said, \u2018I\u2019d like your blessing to be able to move this forward.\u2019 He described what he wanted to do, and he said something like, \u2018The Church has been through so much; I would like to do something beautiful for the Church.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I said, \u2018That\u2019s certainly a great way to start. By all means, I would give my blessing and support.'\u201d<\/p>\n

Bishop Thomas\u2019 Message for Mark Wahlberg<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Asked what he\u2019d like to say to Wahlberg now that cameras are rolling, Bishop Thomas says, \u201cI am actually very excited that he has chosen to move this forward. The potential for good is just remarkably high.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a vehicle to reach un-catechized people, un-evangelized people, to stir in them, I guess I would say, an awareness of the fragility of life, an awareness of our own mortality and our awareness of our capacity to do good \u2026 and certainly Father Stu embodied all of the above.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an email after the interview, Bishop Thomas added: \u201cI had inspiring conversations with Mark and Mel, both of whom are so excited to tell the Fr. Stu story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Images: Courtesy Diocese of Helena\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Subscribe to all that I write at\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Authory.com\/KateOHare<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson join forces in the remarkable life story of Father Stuart Long, an unlikely priest who battled disability to inspire many — including his bishop and a fellow priest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2174,"featured_media":12305,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,21,4,38],"tags":[3220,3217,107,492],"class_list":["post-12299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-interview","category-media","category-movies","tag-father-stu","tag-father-stuart-long","tag-mark-wahlberg","tag-mel-gibson"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Father Stu\u2019: Two Who Knew the Subject of the Wahlberg\/Gibson Movie<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson have teamed in the remarkable life story of Father Stuart Long, an unlikely priest who battled disability to inspire many.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/2021\/06\/father-stu-mark-wahlberg-mel-gibson\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Father Stu\u2019: Two Who Knew the Subject of the Wahlberg\/Gibson Movie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson have teamed in the remarkable life story of Father Stuart Long, an unlikely priest who battled disability to inspire many.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/2021\/06\/father-stu-mark-wahlberg-mel-gibson\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Kate O'Hare's Pax Culturati\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-06T22:12:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-07T04:38:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/524\/2021\/05\/Father-Stu-and-Bill-Long-p.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"510\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kate O'Hare\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@KateOHareWrites\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kate O'Hare\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/2021\/06\/father-stu-mark-wahlberg-mel-gibson\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/2021\/06\/father-stu-mark-wahlberg-mel-gibson\/\",\"name\":\"\u2018Father Stu\u2019: Two Who Knew the Subject of the Wahlberg\/Gibson Movie\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-06T22:12:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-07T04:38:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/#\/schema\/person\/1660bc64bfc9f67a4a8592d17e59213b\"},\"description\":\"Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson have teamed in the remarkable life story of Father Stuart Long, an unlikely priest who battled disability to inspire many.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/2021\/06\/father-stu-mark-wahlberg-mel-gibson\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/2021\/06\/father-stu-mark-wahlberg-mel-gibson\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/2021\/06\/father-stu-mark-wahlberg-mel-gibson\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"‘Father Stu’: Two Who Knew the Real Man Behind the New Mark Wahlberg\/Mel Gibson Movie\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/\",\"name\":\"Kate O'Hare's Pax Culturati\",\"description\":\"Making Peace With the Culture, and Those Who Create It\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/#\/schema\/person\/1660bc64bfc9f67a4a8592d17e59213b\",\"name\":\"Kate O'Hare\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/512f9f9d2774f59918c8275c4a9c653c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/512f9f9d2774f59918c8275c4a9c653c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kate O'Hare\"},\"description\":\"Journalism, screenwriting, Seahawks ... I prefer stories with soul. Covering the intersection of entertainment, faith and pop culture. Writing movies in my spare time -- when not watching Seahawks football, that is. From the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, left my heart in Saratoga Springs. Currently based in Los Angeles, where it's always another day in paradise. No, I don't pick my NFL team by geography.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kateoharewrites\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KateOHareWrites\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/author\/kohare\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018Father Stu\u2019: Two Who Knew the Subject of the Wahlberg\/Gibson Movie","description":"Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson have teamed in the remarkable life story of Father Stuart Long, an unlikely priest who battled disability to inspire many.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/2021\/06\/father-stu-mark-wahlberg-mel-gibson\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018Father Stu\u2019: Two Who Knew the Subject of the Wahlberg\/Gibson Movie","og_description":"Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson have teamed in the remarkable life story of Father Stuart Long, an unlikely priest who battled disability to inspire many.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/2021\/06\/father-stu-mark-wahlberg-mel-gibson\/","og_site_name":"Kate O'Hare's Pax Culturati","article_published_time":"2021-06-06T22:12:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-06-07T04:38:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":510,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/524\/2021\/05\/Father-Stu-and-Bill-Long-p.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kate O'Hare","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@KateOHareWrites","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kate O'Hare","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/2021\/06\/father-stu-mark-wahlberg-mel-gibson\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/2021\/06\/father-stu-mark-wahlberg-mel-gibson\/","name":"\u2018Father Stu\u2019: Two Who Knew the Subject of the Wahlberg\/Gibson Movie","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-06-06T22:12:46+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-07T04:38:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/#\/schema\/person\/1660bc64bfc9f67a4a8592d17e59213b"},"description":"Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson have teamed in the remarkable life story of Father Stuart Long, an unlikely priest who battled disability to inspire many.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/2021\/06\/father-stu-mark-wahlberg-mel-gibson\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/2021\/06\/father-stu-mark-wahlberg-mel-gibson\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/2021\/06\/father-stu-mark-wahlberg-mel-gibson\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"‘Father Stu’: Two Who Knew the Real Man Behind the New Mark Wahlberg\/Mel Gibson Movie"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/","name":"Kate O'Hare's Pax Culturati","description":"Making Peace With the Culture, and Those Who Create It","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/#\/schema\/person\/1660bc64bfc9f67a4a8592d17e59213b","name":"Kate O'Hare","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/512f9f9d2774f59918c8275c4a9c653c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/512f9f9d2774f59918c8275c4a9c653c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kate O'Hare"},"description":"Journalism, screenwriting, Seahawks ... I prefer stories with soul. Covering the intersection of entertainment, faith and pop culture. Writing movies in my spare time -- when not watching Seahawks football, that is. From the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, left my heart in Saratoga Springs. Currently based in Los Angeles, where it's always another day in paradise. No, I don't pick my NFL team by geography.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kateoharewrites","https:\/\/twitter.com\/KateOHareWrites"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/author\/kohare\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2174"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}