Mark Wahlberg: How Our Lady Helped Make "Father Stu," Actor Reveals in ChurchPOP Interview

This is so inspiring! 🤩

Actor and producer Mark Wahlberg sat down with ChurchPOP English editor Jacqueline Burkepile in Dallas, Texas for an interview to discuss his new movie, “Father Stu.”

Mark Wahlberg portrays Fr. Stuart Long, a boxer-turned-Catholic priest who had a “religious experience” in the hospital and converted to Catholicism, realizing his call to the priesthood during his baptism.

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The film follows Stu’s journey to the priesthood, the suffering he endured after his inclusion body myositis diagnosis, and the incredible impact he made on his community.

In the interview, Burkepile asks Wahlberg why he chose to make a movie about this particular priest, how the story impacts his personal faith, the film’s focus on Our Lady and the Rosary, and how he believes the Blessed Mother had a hand in making the film.

He also reveals his favorite prayer, how he prays, and his advice for people suffering so much that they feel God has abandoned them.

He concludes the interview explaining if he has any other faith-based projects in the works, and what he hopes viewers take from the movie.

Here’s the interview below:

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“She was the one who gave him the strength, the fight, and the resolve, so he was constantly looking to Mary,” Wahlberg explains while discussing a scene from the movie.

“I always thought it would be this wonderful moment (and heartbreaking at the same time)–that he would wait and rely on her [Mary]. That she would pick him up. That she would help him up. Because she had already saved his life.”

“Do you think she had a hand in making this movie?” Burkepile then asks.

“Absolutely. I prayed for her intercession as much as I did anybody else’s,” he said. “I would be nothing without the great, strong women in my life. So yes, we are supposed to give as much credit as we possibly can to Mary–and if not more.”

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Wahlberg then discusses redemptive suffering, explaining that he hopes this movie provides comfort and peace to those who feel unloved by God.

“That’s heartbreaking to me to think that, because this life is so short.

“We will spend a little bit of time on this earth, you know. The big picture and the goal is really to have eternity, and peace and love with Our Lord and Savior, and with all of our loved ones.

“This is why I really admire how Stu handled his illness. He handled it with such grace and dignity. He actually embraced it and thought it brought him closer to Christ. And hopefully this movie will help people cope with those very things.”