When Mark Wahlberg dove into the story of Father Stuart Long, he said what stood out was the way a previously agnostic man and his family – resistant to God after the death of their brother and son – were transformed by the Catholic faith.
“It was all that they endured,” Wahlberg told Crux. “Having to deal with the loss of a child and their inability to cope, and then Stu kind of being left to his own devices and really being kind of angry at the world. Then, [it was] how they were all really able to come together and Stu orchestrating all of this through his relationship with God, and then when he committed to God I don’t think anybody has been more effective.”
Wahlberg portrays Long in his new film, “Father Stu,” which opens in theaters Wednesday, April 13. Based on a true story, the film follows Long’s rollercoaster journey from amateur boxer to Catholic priest.
