Bishop James Long was born in Louisville, Kentucky and was raised Roman Catholic. He attended a Roman Catholic grade school and it was during the time while he was attending Kindergarten that he knew that he had a calling to serve as a priest. His mother had asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up and James pointed at the priest and said, "I want to do what he does." From then on, his calling to serve as a priest grew stronger as the years progressed until he decided to join the seminary and began his formation.
James graduated from Loyola University in Chicago and continued his priestly studies by enrolling in major seminary (graduate school). It was during this time that James decided that God was calling him to serve in the Old Catholic Church. Throughout his studies in the seminary, James focused primarily on Demonology and Paranormal Studies.