History of Stuart Long

Stuart Long Ignatius Long was born in Seattle on July 26, 1963, to William "Bill" Long and Kathleen (Kindrick) Long. While he was a child, his parents moved back to their hometown of Helena, Montana.

Stuart Long graduated from Capital High School in Helena in 1981.

Stuart Long attended Carroll College, a private Catholic College in Helena. He played football for two years and began boxing.

In 1985, Stuart Long won the "Golden Gloves" heavyweight title for the state of Montana.

Stuart Long had a younger brother, called Stephen, and a Sister. Stephen was injured with meningococcal at the age of four and died.

Long graduated from Carroll in 1986, with a degree in English literature and writing.

Stuart Long experienced a religious conversion after a near-death motorcycle accident in 1992.

Stuart Long taught for three years at Bishop Alemany High School, a Catholic school in Mission Hills, California.

Stuart Long agreed to get himself baptized as a Roman Catholic, and was baptized at the Easter Vigil in 1994.

In 1997, Stuart Long gave away most of his possessions and began discerning religious life with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in New York.

Stuart Long was ordained a transitional deacon in 2006, but seminary formators had doubts about whether he could fulfill his duties as a priest, and considered making him a permanent deacon instead.

Stuart Long died on June 9, 2014, in Helena. He was buried at Resurrection Cemetery in Lewis and Clark County, Montana.