In the following years, Longo's life became one of "depression, nervousness, and confusion".
Bothered by paranoia and anxiety, he turned to a hometown friend, Vincenzo Pepe, for guidance.
It was Pepe who convinced him, in Longo's account, to abandon Satanism and introduced him to the Dominican Father Alberto Radente who led him to a devotion to the rosary.
On October 7, 1871, Longo became a Dominican tertiary and took the name "Rosario".
Around this time, he reportedly visited a séance and held up a rosary, declaring, "I renounce spiritualism because it is nothing but a maze of error and falsehood."
He also came to know some Franciscans with whom he helped the poor and incurably ill for two years.
Bartolo also kept up his law practice, which took him to the nearby village of Pompei.
He went to Pompei to take care of the affairs of Countess Marianna Farnararo De Fusco.

In Pompei, Longo later recounted, he was shocked at the erosion of the people's faith.
He wrote, "Their religion was a mixture of superstition and popular tradition. ...
For their every need, ... they would go to a witch, a sorceress, in order to obtain charms and witchcraft."
Through talking to the citizens, Bartolo came to recognize their severe lack of catechesis.
When he asked one man if there was only one God, the fellow answered, "When I was a child, I remember people telling me there were three.
Now, after so many years, I don't know if one of them is dead or one has married."

Longo wrote of his personal struggles with mental illness, paranoia, depression and anxiety.
At one point, he noted struggling with suicidal thoughts, but rejected them by recalling the promise of Saint Dominic, "he who propagates my Rosary will be saved."
Longo wrote that this promise is what convinced him to encourage public devotion to the rosary.
In the following years, Longo's life became one of "depression, nervousness, and confusion". Bothered by paranoia and anxiety, he turned to a hometown friend, Vincenzo Pepe, for guidance. It was Pepe who convinced him, in Longo's account, to abandon Satanism and introduced him to the Dominican Father Alberto Radente who led him to a devotion to the rosary. On October 7, 1871, Longo became a Dominican tertiary and took the name "Rosario". Around this time, he reportedly visited a séance and held up a rosary, declaring, "I renounce spiritualism because it is nothing but a maze of error and falsehood." He also came to know some Franciscans with whom he helped the poor and incurably ill for two years. Bartolo also kept up his law practice, which took him to the nearby village of Pompei. He went to Pompei to take care of the affairs of Countess Marianna Farnararo De Fusco.
In Pompei, Longo later recounted, he was shocked at the erosion of the people's faith. He wrote, "Their religion was a mixture of superstition and popular tradition. ... For their every need, ... they would go to a witch, a sorceress, in order to obtain charms and witchcraft." Through talking to the citizens, Bartolo came to recognize their severe lack of catechesis. When he asked one man if there was only one God, the fellow answered, "When I was a child, I remember people telling me there were three. Now, after so many years, I don't know if one of them is dead or one has married."
Longo wrote of his personal struggles with mental illness, paranoia, depression and anxiety. At one point, he noted struggling with suicidal thoughts, but rejected them by recalling the promise of Saint Dominic, "he who propagates my Rosary will be saved." Longo wrote that this promise is what convinced him to encourage public devotion to the rosary.
Bartolo Longo