Spoiler Warning for Father Stu
The story of Father Stuart Long is one of mistakes, sacrifice, heartbreak, forgiveness, and on top of it all, persistence. Based on a true story, the Mark Wahlberg-produced Father Stu describes the surprisingly heartwarming (and heart-wrenching) life of the boxer-turned-priest as he navigates his broken family life, the loss of his career, the eventual failing of his body, and the astonishing development of his relationship with God. It serves as a reminder that everyone is not who they seem to be, and even moreso, to never underestimate a person’s ability to change for the better.
From Helena, Montana, Stuart Long is an atheist boxer past his prime with a foul mouth and a toxic relationship with alcohol. Forced to quit boxing after his doctor tells him his body can’t take any more abuse, he decides to launch a new chapter of his life by moving to Los Angeles and trying to “make it big” as an actor in Hollywood. His mother, who was abandoned by Stu’s father following the sudden death of Stu’s six-year old brother, is skeptical of his ability to turn his life around, but supports him.
Stuart works at a grocery store to support himself, claiming he can network for Hollywood and make connections since “everyone has to buy groceries.” He lands small acting jobs in infomercials, but turns down a larger role after realizing he would have to “bribe” the man in charge of casting in a very un-Christian way (in a manner of speaking).
His first interaction with Christianity takes place when he spots a beautiful Catholic Hispanic woman, Carmen, at the grocery store. He persistently attempts to get her attention and tracks her down to her Catholic parish. In order for her to date him, she says he must be baptized Catholic; he (almost too quickly) agrees to convert and is baptized into the Church, befriending other men in the parish in the process. In his tenacious fashion, he memorizes prayers in Spanish to impress Carmen’s parents and assist her in teaching Sunday school classes.
Following a small relapse in his drinking habits, a character resembling Jesus at a bar tells him not to drive home; he ignores him and drives in his motorcycle, getting into a vicious accident. A vision of Mary stays with him as he falls into a coma. He recovers from his coma quickly and decides to become a Catholic priest, ending his relationship with Carmen. Despite harsh disapproval from his parents and Carmen, he applies to the nearby seminary, gets rejected due to his criminal DUI record, and, never one to give up, appeals his rejection in-person. He argues that even the Apostles were sinners and he should have a second chance too. In the seminary, he is diagnosed with inclusion body myositis, an incurable and rare degenerative muscle disorder that mimics Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Following his diagnosis, the rector eventually tells Stu that the diocese refuses to sponsor his ordination, since his failing physical condition has led him to need crutches to walk and rendered him “unable to perform the sacraments.” Stu believes that the Church is merely concerned with the money they would be investing in him to represent the Catholic Church, not wanting to give the Church a weak public image by ordaining a cripple. He argues that this is against everything the Church stands for, as Jesus would often accompany invalids, lepers, and cripples against social norms . The rector makes a case for the diocese to ordain Stu anyway, and they give in; he is ordained in a wheelchair and spends the rest of his time at a care home, where he serves large crowds from the diocesan community until his death at age 50 from his illness.
Stuart persevered against all of the obstacles in his path: the end of his boxing career, the hesitancy of the Church to sponsor him, the slow degeneration of his muscles, and the disapproval of his parents and girlfriend of his priestly ambitions. In the truest sense of the concept, he is a fighter for God; it just took him a longer time than most to talk to Him. On a practical level, I believe Father Stu does not properly do his conversion justice; it seems like one day he’s an atheist, and the next he is a God-fearing Christian. Despite this, he shows a remarkable sense of right and wrong following his conversion. When his values are put to the test after his diagnosis he, like Job, asks God why, but eventually accepts his new life.
Father Stu has its flaws but, in the end, I found it to be an inspiring story about perseverance, self-sacrifice, and prejudice. As he said to the rector, the Church didn’t want to give him a chance because they were afraid he would succeed – and what would that say about the Church, a boxer with a criminal record becoming a role model? The Church should be more concerned with doing good than with its P.R, and this movie is a poignant reminder of the human flaws all of us carry. Likewise, the lesson of the story is powerful; everyone, no matter their past, has the capacity for good and to be a warrior for Christ.
Grant is a senior studying Information Systems at the Carroll School of Management. He keeps busy by studying and writing for The Torch.
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