While a seminarian at Mount Angel, Stu underwent surgery to remove a tumor discovered on his hip, after which the strength began ebbing from his once powerful body. Helena Cathedral, along with his good friend Father Bart Tolleson. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Thomas on Decemat St.
After earning his Masters there he was steered towards pastoral service, receiving his priestly formation for the Diocese of Helena at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon. The Friars sent him to Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio to study philosophy. He went on to serve with the Capuchin Friars in New York City, working in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Stu felt a call to the priesthood as he was baptized, and in order to determine if it was genuine he left the museum in 1998 to teach for three years at a Catholic school in Mission Hills, California. This close brush with death was a turning point in Stu’s life, prompting an exploration of religious faith that ultimately lead to his baptism as a Roman Catholic so that he could marry the beautiful young lady he loved. Riding his motorcycle home from the museum one evening, he was struck by a car, then run over by another. Looking beyond the comedy club and bar jobs that had paid the bills, he took a position with the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena where he rose to become manager, a position he held for seven years. Though he made some commercials and had a few bit parts, Stu eventually became disillusioned by the film industry which he later described as “seedy”. A planned career as a prizefighter was nipped in the bud by reconstructive jaw surgery, so at his mom’s suggestion he moved to Los Angeles intent on breaking into the movies. 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. He moved on to Carroll College, playing Saints football for two years and developing a passion for boxing, in which he excelled. Stu grew into a big young man, proud of the powerful physique he developed while wrestling and playing football for the Bruins. Stu began his elementary education at Central School in Helena and graduated from Capital High School in 1981. The mountains literally rose up from the backyard of the family home on South Main and Stu loved joining his older siblings and the other neighborhood kids in exploring all the trails. While he was still a toddler the family moved to Helena, his parents’ hometown. Father Stu was born at Harbor View Medical Center in Seattle on July 26, 1963, to Bill and Kathleen (Kindrick) Long.
With his mom and dad at his side, Father Stuart Long, 50, passed away in the early morning hours of Monday, June 9, 2014, at the Big Sky Care Center where he has resided and ministered since 2010.