Stuart Correz, Seminarian, Dies at 22 of Heart Ailment

Stuart Correz, a 22-year-old seminarian of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, has died of heart failure.

“Stuart had wanted to become a priest since he was 5 years old and made remarkable progress despite his heart ailments,” said Monsignor Daniel J. Murray, director of vocations for the Diocese of Orange. “He was a young man full of compassion and humor. We were blessed with his presence in the seminary for these past eight years.”

Born with a deformation of the heart vessels, Correz had undergone open heart surgery twice in infancy and last year had a pacemaker implanted to regulate his heart.

Last week, he was to have entered St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo to begin theological studies leading to the priesthood.

Correz is survived by his parents, John and Mary Correz of Placentia; two brothers, Michael and Steven; and two sisters, Tracy Correz and Jacqueline Outhier. His twin, Steven, is also a seminarian of the Diocese of Orange, presently attending St. John’s Seminary College.

Mass for Correz will be said at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 717 North Bradford Ave., Placentia, followed by burial at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Orange.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the Diocese of Orange Vocations Fund to fund scholarships for seminarians in Stuart Correz’s memory.