Notable Catholic Converts

HISTORICAL PERIOD

21st century

• Jay Budziszewski: philosopher, Univ. of Texas; converted on Easter of 2004 from Anglican, lapsed Baptist and nihilistic background; author of Written on the Heart: The Case for Natural Law (1997) How to Stay Christian in College (1999);  The Revenge of Conscience: Politics and the Fall of Man (2004);  What We Can't Not Know: A Guide (2004); (conversion story).
• Reinhard Huetter: theologian, professor at Duke Divinity School; converted in 2004 from Lutheran (ELCA) background (he was received into full communion, together with his wife, on the feast day of Holly Innocents, Dec. 28, 2004).
• Alvin F. Kimel: theologian, author of Pontifications blog; former Episcopal priest, received into the Church in 2005 (co-author of Baltimore Declaration of 1991; editor, Speaking the Christian God: The Holy Trinity and the Challenge of Feminism, and This Is My Name Forever: The Trinity & Gender Language for God)
• Leonard Klein: priest; former editor of the Lutheran Forum and Lutheran minister; converted in 2003 from Lutheran background; ordained a Catholic priest in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2006. 
• Canon Edward Norman: church historian, chancellor of York Minster; convert from Anglicanism
• R.R. Reno: theologian (Ph.D. Yale), professor of theological ethics at Creighton University; converted in 2004 from an Episcopalian background after authoring In the Ruins of the Church: Sustaining Faith in an Age of Diminished Christianity (2002), which was a kind of manifesto against such a move from Canterbury to Rome ! (“Out of the Ruins,” First Things, Feb. 2005, 11-16).
• Ola Tjørhom: prominent representative of the Church of Norway, theologian and ecumenist, and professor at the Norwegian School of Mission and Theology, Stavanger, author of Visible Church--Visible Unity: Ecumenical Ecclesiology and "The Great Tradition of the Church" (2004); converted from a Lutheran background in 2003 ("Norwegian Lutheran Theologian, Ecumenist, Becomes Roman Catholic: Keeps Teaching Post at Mission and Theology School," Lutheran World Federation, January 29, 2003). 

20th century

• Mortimer J. Adler (1902-2001): philosopher & founder of Great Books program; convert from secular Judaism & Anglicanism.
• Jimmy (James) Akin: Catholic apologist, philosopher and blogger at Karl Keating's Catholic Answers apologetics organization in San Diego, California; converted from evangelical Presbyterian background (read the story of his conversion in Surprised by Truth: 11 Converts Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic; and "A Triumph and a Tragedy"). 
• Francis Cardinal Arinze (1932-    ): highly placed Vatican official; converted in youth from Nigerian animist tradition.
• Mgsr. Robert Hugh Benson (1871-1914): novelist, priest, apologist, son of E. W. Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury; coverted in 1903 from Anglican tradition (links: Joseph Pearce, "R.H. Benson: Unsung Genius"; www.Benson-Unabridged.Com).
• Robert H. Bork (1927-    ): American jurist, Yale law professor, U.S. Solicitor General (1973-77), judge for federal Circuit Court of Appeals for D.C. (1982-88), Supreme Court nominee, resident scholar at American Enterprise Institute; converted in 2003 from Protestant background
• Roman Brandstaetter (1906-1987): Jewish writer, biblical translator, and moral philosopher; convert from Polish Jewish background.
• Black Elk (1863-1950): native American, Lakotan; convert (in 1904) from native American religion.
• Fr. Louis Bouyer (1913-2004): theologian, liturgist, priest; former French Lutheran pastor.
• Ronda de Sola Chervin (1939-    ): philosopher & apologist; convert from Jewish & atheist background (Book link).
• Wesley Kanne Clark (1944-   ): Four Star General (retired), former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO in the Serbia-Kosovo conflict of 1999, Democratic primary candidate for president in 2003/4; converted while in Vietnam (ca. 1970); born half-Jewish, raised Baptist
• Gary Cooper (1901-1961): actor; converted in 1959 from unknown religious background (link: Robert Brennan, "Biblical Beginnings and Hollywood Endings").
• David B. Currie (living): Catholic apologist & philosopher; convert from Fundamentalist background (author of Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic).
• Dorothy Day (1897-1980): social activist, founder of Catholic Worker; convert from Communist background.
• Michael Davies (1936-2004): Catholic traditionalist & author; convert from Anglicanism (link).
• Christopher Derrick (living): Catholic apologist, author & critic ; convert from Anglicanism.
• Annie Dillard (1945-    ): writer; convert from agnostic background, though difficult to still classify as practicing Catholic.
• Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. (1918-    ): Jesuit theologian; convert from Presbyterianism (link).
• Shusaku Endo (1923-1996): novelist; convert from agnosticism.
• William Reuben Farmer (?-2001): biblical scholar, renowned defender of synoptic priority of Matthew; convert from Methodism (link).
• Douglas Farrow: professor of religious studies at McGill University; converted in 2005 from Anglican background.
• Hamish Fraser (early twentieth-century): writer, prominent Scottish Catholic; converted in 1947 from Communist background; originally Presbyterian until becoming a communist in 1933 (Link: 1978 letter to the General of the Society of Jesus).
• Graham Greene (1904-1991): novelist; convert from secularized Anglican background.
• Paul J. Griffiths (1955-    ): philosopher and theologian, also scholar of Buddhism; taught at Notre Dame, currently at University of Chicago; converted in 1996 with his family, from Anglican background.
• Marcus Grodi (1958?-     ): apologist, president of The Coming Home Network, and host of EWTN's "Journey Home" program; originally a Presbyterian pastor (Conversion story, and his novel, How Firm a Foundation).
• Sir Alec Guiness (1914-2000): Academy Award winning actor (67 films); converted on March 24, 1956, from atheist background (links: obituary; "A Conversation with Piers Paul Read, Biographer of Sir Alec Guinness").  
• Scott Hahn (1958-    ): biblical theologian, popular writer & speaker; convert from Presbyterianism.
• Barbara Hall (1961-    ): writer and executive producer of hit television shows Judging Amy and Joan of Arcadia; converted after events of September 11, 2001 from agnostic and childhood Methodist background. (Link: Barbara Hall: Writer & Producer).
• Bob Hope (Leslie Towns Hope) (1903-2003); actor, entertainer, comedian; converted in 1996 from agnostic background, becoming active member of North Hollywood's St. Charles Catholic Church parish.
• Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889): Jesuit priest & poet; convert (in 1917) from Anglicanism.
• Thomas Howard (living, retired): English professor & writer; convert from Evangelicalism (ch. 9 in O'Neill book below).
• Kenneth J. Howell (1952-     ): theologian and philosopher of science; convert from Presbyterianism, former pastor.
• Arthur Klyber (living): apologist, evangelist, priest, founder of Remnant of Israel: convert from Jewish background.
• Msgr. Ronald Knox (1888-1957): theologian; convert from Anglicanism.
• Peter Kreeft (living): philosopher, apologist & popular writer; convert from Dutch Reformed tradition.
• Gregory Krehbiel (living): Catholic critic & author; convert from Presbyterian background.
• Arnold Lunn (Henry Moore) (1888-1974): writer, apologist, and father of modern slalom skiing; converted from Methodist background, and was received into the Church in 1933 by Mgsr. Ronald Knox.
• Jean-Marie Lustiger (1927-    ): Bishop of Paris; convert from Jewish background.
• Alasdair MacIntyre (1929-    ): philosopher; convert from Marxism and agnosticism.
• Jacques Maritain (1882-1973): philosopher; convert from background of agnosticism.
• Raissa Maritain (1883-?): philosopher, poet & mystic, wife of Jacques Maritain; converted from Jewish and agnostic background.
• Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980); literary, cultural & media critic; conversion from agnostic background.
• Thomas Merton (1915-1968): Trappist monk, priest, spiritual writer & social critic; convert from agnostic background.
• Rosalind Moss (living): Catholic apologist; convert from Jewish background via evangelical Protestantism.
• Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990) Editor of Punch magazine; convert from Anglicanism and agnostic. background.
• Bernard Nathanson: ex-abortionist, one of the seven founding members of NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) converted to Catholicism and was baptized in 1996; from a Jewish and atheist background (See Nathanson's book, The Hand of God: A Journey from Death to Life by the Abortion Doctor Who Changed His Mind).
• Fr. Richard John Neuhaus (1939-    ); Priest, editor of First Things, writer, cultural critic; convert from Lutheranism.
• Fr. Jay Scott Newman (living): priest, canon lawyer, ecumenist; convert from Anglicanism.
• Dan O'Neill (living): writer and editor, founder of Mercy Corps, son-in-law of Pat Boone; convert from evangelical background; editor of The New Catholics: Contemporary Converts Tell Their Stories: diverse converts.
• Peggy Noonan (1950-     ): journalist, author; converted from agnostic background and attends Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church in Washington, DC (see "Meeting Peggy Noonan")
• Walker Percy (1916-1990): novelist; convert from Presbyterianism.
• Fr. John Putnam (living): priest & canon lawyer; convert from Baptist tradition.
• Stephen K. Ray (living): Catholic apologist; convert from Baptist tradition.
• Charlie Rich (1899-?): member of Jesuit community in New York City; convert from devout Hasidic Jewish background in Hungary (Friends of Charles Rich)
• Fr. George Rutler: priest and rector of Holy Name Catholic Church in New York City, where he celebrates the Traditional (Tridentine) Latin Mass; a regular columnist for Crisis magazine, he convert from Anglican background, in which he had been ordained as a priest of the Episcopal Church.  He was ordained by Terence Cardinal Cooke on Sept. 8, 1891.
• Fr. Ray Ryland (1920?-    ): priest, professor of theology (Univ. of San Diego & Franciscan Univ. of Steubenville) & apologist on staff of Catholic Answers; formerly a priest of the Episcopal Church, converted in 1963 with his wife, Ruth, and ordained with a dispensation from the rule of celibacy (Conversion story).
• E.F. Schumacher (1911-1977): internationally influential British economic theorist; converted in 1971 from a background of nominal German Lutheranism and agnosticism after absorbing many Catholic influences from the late 1950s onward, including papal encyclicals, the distributivism of G.K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc and Vincent McNabb, Thomism, and mysticism of writers such as St. Teresa of Avila and Thomas Merton (see Charles Fager, "Small Is Beautiful, and So Is Rome: Surprising Faith of E.F. Schumacher"). 
• Mark P. Shea (living): Catholic apologist; convert from non-denominational tradition.
• Donegan Smith (living): actor, acting professor; convert from Baptist tradition.
• Muriel Spark (1918-    ): Scottish novelist, made a Dame of the British Empire in 1993; converted in 1954 from Jewish and Presbyterian parentage (link: infoplease).
• Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) (1891-1942): philosopher, student of Edmund Husserl, Carmelite nun, martyr at Auschwitz; convert from Judaism
• Robert A. Sungenis (1960?-    ); apologist and founder of Catholic Apologetics International; Westminster Theological Seminary graduate, and convert from evangelical background and inactive Catholic past.
• John Michael Talbot (1954-    ); musician, secular Franciscan; convert from lapsed Methodist background (ch. 8 in O'Neill book above) (link: The Story of John Michael Talbot by Dan O'Neill)
• J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973): novelist; convert from Protestant tradition in his eighth year, with his widowed mother (see also this excellent J.R.R. Tolkien link)
• Sigrid Undset (1882-1949): novelist; convert from Scandinavian Protestantism
• Sheldon Vanauken (?-1996): historian and writer; convert from Episcopalianism & agnosticism (ch. 12 in O'Neill book above)
• Dietrich von Hildebrand (1889-1977): philosopher, declared a "Doctor of the Church" by Pope Pius XII; converted in 1914; converted in 1914 from an agnostic background, under the influence of Max Scheler. 
• Dale Vree (1944-   ): Editor of The New Oxford Review; convert from Dutch Reformed background (ch. 5 in O'Neill book above) (link)
• Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966): novelist and social critic; convert from secularized Anglicanism and skepticism
• John Wayne (Marion Robert Morrison) (1907-1979): actor; converted before his death from Presbyterian background (not through the influence of Robert Schuller's daughter, as the urban legend has it; the story, however, is both alleged and denied by Alan Dumas)
• Israel (Eugenio) Zolli (1881-1956): Chief Rabbi of Rome an scholar of biblical and semitic literature; converted from Judaism in 1945, and out of respect for Pope Pius XII, took his first name, "Eugenio," as his own Christian name.

19th century

• James Burns (1808-1871): publisher and author, founder of the Burns and Oates publishing firm; converted in 1847 from Anglicanism under the influence of Newman in the Oxford Movement (1833-1845)
• Edward Caswall (1814-1878); priest of the Birmingham Oratory (founded by Cardinal Newman), poet, translator and hymn-writer; converted in 1847 from tradition of Anglicanism in which he had been an ordained a priest.
• Hermann Cohen (1821-1870): world class pianist & protege of Franz Liszt; convert from Judaism, joined Carmelite order.
• Frederick William Faber (1814-1863); Oratorian priest, devotional author and hymn writer, appointed by Cardinal Newman to found the London Oratory; converted in 1845 (a month after Newman) from Anglican and Calvinist background.
• Henry Edward Cardinal Manning (1808-1892): Archbishop of Westminster; convert from Anglicanism.
• John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890): theologian, Oratorian, founder of Oxford Movement; convert (in 1845) from Anglicanism, former Anglican rector of St. Mary the Virgin, in Oxford.
• Alphonse Ratisbonne (1814-1884): Jesuit priest & evangelist to the Jewish household of faith; convert from Jewish background.
• Max Scheler (1874-1928): philosopher, a phenomenologist associated with Dietrich von Hildebrand and Edith Stein; converted and baptized Catholic in 1899 from a Jewish background (his mother was Jewish, his father, Lutheran); around 1921 became increasingly non-commital. (For details, see John H. Nota, S.J., Max Scheler: The Man and His Work).  

18th century

• St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821): founder of Sisters of Charity; convert from Protestantism

17th century

• Charles II (1630-1685): King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, when the monarchy was restored in 1660, following Oliver Cromwell's death; converted on his deathbed from Anglican background 
• Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne (1611-1675): marshal of France, noted military leader in campaigns in France and Italy during the Thirty Years' War and for his victory in Battle of Dunes (1658); converted 1668 from Huguenot background in which he was educated
• James II (1633-1701): King of England and Ireland (as James II) and of Scotland (as James VII); converted in 1668 from Anglicanism
• Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680): native American convert from Mohawk tradition

16th century

• St. Edmund Campion, S.J. (1540-1581): priest and martyr; converted to Catholicism a short time after taking orders as an Anglican deacon, then joined the Jesuits in Rome.
• St. Margaret Clitherow (ca. 1556-1586): martyr, "Pearl of York"; converted ca. 1574; executed by being pressed to death under heavy weights for harboring priests and hearing Mass.
• St. John Ogilvie, S.J. (1579-1615): priest & martyr; converted from a Scottish Presbyterian (Calvinist) background, canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 17, 1976 (links: Catholic Encyclopedia; Saints Alive; Scottish Festivals).

RELIGIOUS BACKGROUNDS

Agnostic

• Jay Budziszewski (1960?-    ): philosopher, Univ. of Texas; converted on Easter of 2004 from Anglican, lapsed Baptist and agnostic, nihilistic background; author of Written on the Heart: The Case for Natural Law (1997) How to Stay Christian in College (1999);  The Revenge of Conscience: Politics and the Fall of Man (2004);  What We Can't Not Know: A Guide (2004); (conversion story).
• Sir Alec Guiness (1914-2000): Academy Award winning actor (67 films); converted on March 24, 1956, from atheist
•  background (links: obituary; "A Conversation with Piers Paul Read, Biographer of Sir Alec Guinness")  
• Jacques Maritain: philosopher; convert from background of agnosticism
• Raissa Maritain: philosopher, poet & mystic, wife of Jacques Maritain; converted from Jewish and agnostic background
• Marshall McLuhan; literary, cultural & media critic; conversion from agnostic background
• Thomas Merton: Trappist monk, priest, spiritual writer & social critic; convert from agnostic background
• Malcolm Muggeridge; Editor of Punch magazine; convert from Anglicanism and agnostic background
• Bernard Nathanson: ex-abortionist, one of the seven founding members of NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) converted to Catholicism and was baptized in 1996; from a Jewish and atheist background (See Nathanson's book, The Hand of God: A Journey from Death to Life by the Abortion Doctor Who Changed His Mind).
• Dietrich von Hildebrand (1889-1977): philosopher, declared a "Doctor of the Church" by Pope Pius XII; converted in 1914; converted in 1914 from an agnostic background, under the influence of Max Scheler. 
• Peggy Noonan (1950-     ): journalist, author; converted from agnostic background and attends Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church in Washington, DC (see "Meeting Peggy Noonan")
• E.F. Schumacher (1911-1977): internationally influential British economic theorist; converted in 1971 from a background of nominal German Lutheranism and agnosticism after absorbing many Catholic influences from the late 1950s onward, including papal encyclicals, the distributivism of G.K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc and Vincent McNabb, Thomism, and mysticism of writers such as St. Teresa of Avila and Thomas Merton (see Charles Fager, "Small Is Beautiful, and So Is Rome: Surprising Faith of E.F. Schumacher"). 

Anglican

• Mortimer J. Adler (1902-2001): philosopher & founder of Great Books program; convert from secular Judaism & then from Anglicanism
• Mgsr. Robert Hugh Benson (1871-1914): novelist, priest, apologist, son of E. W. Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury; coverted in 1903 from Anglican tradition (link: Joseph Pearce, "R.H. Benson: Unsung Genius"; www.Benson-Unabridged.Com)
• Jay Budziszewski (1960?-    ): philosopher, Univ. of Texas; converted on Easter of 2004 from Anglican, lapsed Baptist and nihilistic background; author of Written on the Heart: The Case for Natural Law (1997) How to Stay Christian in College (1999);  The Revenge of Conscience: Politics and the Fall of Man (2004);  What We Can't Not Know: A Guide (2004); (conversion story).
• James Burns (1808-1871): publisher and author, founder of the Burns and Oates publishing firm; converted in 1847 from Anglicanism under the influence of Newman in the Oxford Movement (1833-1845)
• St. Edmund Campion, S.J. (1540-1581): priest and martyr; converted to Catholicism a short time after taking orders as an Anglican deacon, then joined the Jesuits in Rome.
• Edward Caswall (1814-1878); priest of the Birmingham Oratory (founded by Cardinal Newman), poet, translator and hymn-writer; converted in 1847 from tradition of Anglicanism in which he had been an ordained a priest
• Charles II (1630-1685): King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, when the monarchy was restored in 1660, following Oliver Cromwell's death; converted on his deathbed from Anglican background 
• G.K. Chesterton: journalist, cultural critic and writer; convert from secular Anglicanism (see also his Conversion Story)
• St. Margaret Clitherow (ca. 1556-1586): martyr, "Pearl of York"; converted ca. 1574; executed by being pressed to death under heavy weights for harboring priests and hearing Mass.
• Michael Davies (1936-2004): Catholic traditionalist & author; convert from Anglicanism (link)
• Christopher Derrick (living): Catholic apologist, author & critic ; convert from Anglicanism
• Frederick William Faber (1814-1863); Oratorian priest, devotional author and hymn writer, appointed by Cardinal Newman to found the London Oratory; converted in 1845 (a month after Newman) from Anglican and Calvinist background.
• Douglas Farrow: professor of religious studies at McGill University; converted in 2005 from Anglican background.
• Graham Greene (1904-1991): novelist; convert from secularized Anglican background
• Paul J. Griffiths (1955-    ): philosopher and theologian, also scholar of Buddhism; taught at Notre Dame, currently at University of Chicago; converted in 1996 with his family, from Anglican background.
• Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889): Jesuit priest & poet; convert (in 1917) from Anglicanism
• Thomas Howard (living, retired): English professor & writer; convert from Evangelicalism (ch. 9 in O'Neill book below??)
• James II (1633-1701): King of England and Ireland (as James II) and of Scotland (as James VII); converted in 1668 from Anglicanism
• Alvin F. Kimel: theologian, author of Pontifications blog; former Episcopal priest, received into the Church in 2005 (co-author of Baltimore Declaration of 1991; editor, Speaking the Christian God: The Holy Trinity and the Challenge of Feminism, and This Is My Name Forever: The Trinity & Gender Language for God)
• Msgr. Ronald Knox (1888-1957): theologian; convert from Anglicanism
• Henry Edward Cardinal Manning (1808-1892): Archbishop of Westminster; convert from Anglicanism
• Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990) Editor of Punch magazine; convert from Anglicanism and agnostic background
• John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890): theologian, Oratorian, founder of Oxford Movement; convert (in 1845) from Anglicanism
• Fr. Jay Scott Newman (living): priest, canon lawyer, ecumenist; convert from Anglicanism
• Canon Edward Norman: church historian, chancellor of York Minster; convert from Anglicanism
• R.R. Reno: theologian (Ph.D. Yale), professor of theological ethics at Creighton University; converted in 2004 from an Episcopalian background after authoring In the Ruins of the Church: Sustaining Faith in an Age of Diminished Christianity (2002), which was a kind of manifesto against such a move from Canterbury to Rome ! (“Out of the Ruins,” First Things, Feb. 2005, 11-16).
• Fr. George Rutler: priest and rector of Holy Name Catholic Church in New York City, where he celebrates the Traditional (Tridentine) Latin Mass; a regular columnist for Crisis magazine, he convert from Anglican background, in which he had been ordained as a priest of the Episcopal Church.  He was ordained by Terence Cardinal Cooke on Sept. 8, 1891.St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821): founder of Sisters of Charity; convert from Episcopalian (Anglican) tradition
• Fr. Ray Ryland (1920?-    ): priest, professor of theology (Univ. of San Diego & Franciscan Univ. of Steubenville) & apologist on staff of Catholic Answers; formerly a priest of the Episcopal Church, converted in 1963 with his wife, Ruth, and ordained with a dispensation from the rule of celibacy (Conversion story).
• J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973): novelist; convert from Protestant tradition in his eighth year, with his widowed mother (see also this excellent J.R.R. Tolkien link)
• Sheldon Vanauken (?-1996): historian and writer; convert from Episcopalianism & agnosticism (ch. 12 in O'Neill book above??)
• Dale Vree (1944-   ): Editor of The New Oxford Review; convert from Dutch Reformed background (ch. 5 in O'Neill book above??) (link)
• Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966): novelist and social critic; convert from secularized Anglicanism and skepticism

Baptist

• Jay Budziszewski (1960?-    ): philosopher, Univ. of Texas; converted on Easter of 2004 from Anglican, lapsed Baptist and nihilistic background; author of Written on the Heart: The Case for Natural Law (1997) How to Stay Christian in College (1999);  The Revenge of Conscience: Politics and the Fall of Man (2004);  What We Can't Not Know: A Guide (2004); (conversion story).
• Wesley Kanne Clark (1944-   ): Four Star General (retired), former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO in the Serbia-Kosovo conflict of 1999, Democratic primary candidate for president in 2003/4; converted while in Vietnam (ca. 1970); born half-Jewish, raised Baptist
• David B. Currie (living): Catholic apologist & philosopher; convert from Fundamentalist background (author of Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic).
• Fr. John Putnam; priest & canon lawyer; convert from Baptist tradition
• Stephen K. Ray: Catholic apologist; convert from Baptist tradition
• Donegan Smith: actor, acting professor; convert from Baptist tradition

Calvinist

• Avery Cardinal Dulles: theologian; convert from Presbyterianism
• Hamish Fraser (early twentieth-century): writer, prominent Scottish Catholic; converted in 1947 from Communist background; originally Presbyterian until becoming a communist in 1933 (Link: 1978 letter to the General of the Society of Jesus).
• Marcus Grodi (1958?-     ): apologist, president of The Coming Home Network, and host of EWTN's "Journey Home" program; originally a Presbyterian pastor (Conversion story, and his novel, How Firm a Foundation).
• Scott Hahn: biblical theologian, popular writer & speaker; convert from Presbyterianism
• Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne (1611-1675): marshal of France, noted military leader in campaigns in France and Italy during the Thirty Years' War and for his victory in Battle of Dunes (1658); converted 1668 from Huguenot (Calvinist) background in which he was educated
• Kenneth J. Howell (1952-    ): theologian and philosopher of science; convert from Presbyterianism, former pastor.
• Peter Kreeft: philosopher, apologist & popular writer; convert from Dutch Reformed tradition
• Gregory Krehbiel: Catholic critic & author; convert from Presbyterian background
• St. John Ogilvie, S.J. (1579-1615): priest & martyr; converted from a Scottish Presbyterian (Calvinist) background, canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 17, 1976 (links: Catholic Encyclopedia; Saints Alive; Scottish Festivals).
• Walker Percy: novelist; convert from Presbyterianism
• Muriel Spark (1918-    ): Scottish novelist, made a Dame of the British Empire in 1993; converted in 1954 from Jewish and Presbyterian parentage (link: infoplease).
• Dale Vree (1944-   ): Editor of The New Oxford Review; convert from Dutch Reformed background (ch. 5 in O'Neill book above) (link)
• John Wayne (Marion Robert Morrison) (1907-1979): actor; converted before his death from Presbyterian background (not through the influence of Robert Schuller's daughter, as the urban legend has it; the story, however, is both alleged and denied by Alan Dumas)

Evangelical

• David B. Currie (living): Catholic apologist & philosopher; convert from Fundamentalist background (author of Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic).
• Jayson Franklin: teacher, father; convert from evangelical Protestantism
• Scott Hahn: biblical theologian, popular writer & speaker; convert from evangelical Presbyterianism
• Thomas Howard: English professor & writer; convert from Evangelicalism (ch. 9 in O'Neill book below??)
• Kenneth J. Howell (1952-    ): theologian and philosopher of science; convert from evangelical Presbyterianism, former pastor.
• Gregory Krehbiel: Catholic critic & author; convert from Presbyterian background
• Rosalind Moss: Catholic apologist; convert from Jewish background via evangelical Protestantism
• Dan O'Neill (living): writer and editor, son-in-law of Pat Boone; convert from evangelical background; editor of The New Catholics: Contemporary Converts Tell Their Stories: diverse converts.
• Fr. John Putnam; priest & canon lawyer; convert from evangelical Baptist tradition
• Stephen K. Ray: Catholic apologist; convert from Baptist tradition
• Mark P. Shea: Catholic apologist; convert from non-denominational tradition
• Robert A. Sungenis (1960?-    ); apologist and founder of Catholic Apologetics International; Westminster Theological Seminary graduate, and convert from evangelical background and inactive Catholic past.
• John Michael Talbot (1954-    ); musician, secular Franciscan; convert from lapsed Methodist background (ch. 8 in O'Neill book above) (link: The Story of John Michael Talbot by Dan O'Neill)

Jewish

• Mortimer J. Adler: philosopher & founder of Great Books program; convert from secular Judaism, before converting to Anglicanism, and then to Catholicism
• Roman Brandstaetter (1906-1987): Jewish writer, biblical translator, and moral philosopher; convert from Polish Jewish background
• Ronda de Sola Chervin: philosopher & apologist; convert from Jewish & atheist background
• Wesley Kanne Clark (1944-   ): Four Star General (retired), former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO in the Serbia-Kosovo conflict of 1999, Democratic primary candidate for president in 2003/4; converted while in Vietnam (ca. 1970); born half-Jewish, raised Baptist
• Hermann Cohen (1821-1870): world class pianist & protege of Franz Liszt; convert from Judaism, joined Carmelite order
• Arthur Klyber (living): apologist, evangelist, priest, founder of Remnant of Israel: convert from Jewish background
• Jean-Marie Lustiger: Bishop of Paris; convert from Jewish background
• Raissa Maritain: philosopher, poet & mystic, wife of Jacques Maritain; converted from Jewish and agnostic background
• Rosalind Moss: Catholic apologist; convert from Jewish background via evangelical Protestantism
• Bernard Nathanson: ex-abortionist, one of the seven founding members of NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) converted to Catholicism and was baptized in 1996; from a Jewish and atheist background (See Nathanson's book, The Hand of God: A Journey from Death to Life by the Abortion Doctor Who Changed His Mind).
• Alphonse Ratisbonne (1814-1884): Jesuit priest & evangelist to the Jewish household of faith; convert from Jewish background
• Charlie Rich: member of Jesuit community in New York City; convert from devout Hasidic Jewish background in Hungary (Friends of Charles Rich)
• Max Scheler (1874-1928): philosopher, a phenomenologist associated with Dietrich von Hildebrand and Edith Stein; converted and baptized Catholic in 1899 from a Jewish background (his mother was Jewish, his father, Lutheran); around 1921 became increasingly non-commital. (For details, see John H. Nota, S.J., Max Scheler: The Man and His Work).
• Muriel Spark (1918-    ): Scottish novelist, made a Dame of the British Empire in 1993; converted in 1954 from Jewish and Presbyterian parentage (link: infoplease).
• St. Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross): philosopher, student of Edmund Husserl, Carmelite nun, martyr; convert from Judaism
• Israel (Eugenio) Zolli (1881-1956): Chief Rabbi of Rome an scholar of biblical and semitic literature; converted from Judaism in 1945, and out of respect for Pope Pius XII, took his first name, "Eugenio," as his own Christian name.

Lutheran

• Fr. Louis Bouyer: theologian, liturgist; former French Lutheran pastor
• Reinhard Huetter: theologian, professor at Duke Divinity School; converted in 2004 from Lutheran (ELCA) background (he was received into full communion, together with his wife, on the feast day of Holly Innocents, Dec. 28, 2004)
• Leonard Klein: Editor of the Lutheran Forum and Lutheran minister; converted in 2003 from Lutheran background. 
• Fr. Richard John Neuhaus; Priest, editor of First Things, writer, cultural critic; convert from Lutheranism
• E.F. Schumacher (1911-1977): internationally influential British economic theorist; converted in 1971 from a background of nominal German Lutheranism and agnosticism after absorbing many Catholic influences from the late 1950s onward, including papal encyclicals, the distributivism of G.K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc and Vincent McNabb, Thomism, and mysticism of writers such as St. Teresa of Avila and Thomas Merton (see Charles Fager, "Small Is Beautiful, and So Is Rome: Surprising Faith of E.F. Schumacher").
• Ola Tjørhom: prominent representative of the Church of Norway, theologian and ecumenist, and professor at the Norwegian School of Mission and Theology, Stavanger, author of Visible Church--Visible Unity: Ecumenical Ecclesiology and "The Great Tradition of the Church" (2004); converted from a Lutheran background in 2003 ("Norwegian Lutheran Theologian, Ecumenist, Becomes Roman Catholic: Keeps Teaching Post at Mission and Theology School," Lutheran World Federation, January 29, 2003).  

Marxist

• Dorothy Day: social activist, founder of Catholic Worker; convert from Communist background
• Hamish Fraser (early twentieth-century): writer, prominent Scottish Catholic; converted in 1947 from Communist background; originally Presbyterian until becoming a communist in 1933 (Link: 1978 letter to the General of the Society of Jesus).
• Alasdair MacIntyre; philosopher; convert from Marxism and agnosticism
• Malcolm Muggeridge; Editor of Punch magazine; convert from agnostic, then Marxist, then Anglican background
•  

Methodist

• William R. Farmer: theologian; convert from Methodism
• Barbara Hall (1961-    ): writer and executive producer of hit television shows Judging Amy and Joan of Arcadia; converted after events of September 11, 2001 from agnostic and childhood Methodist background (Link: Barbara Hall: Writer & Producer).
• Arnold Lunn (Henry Moore) (1888-1974): writer, apologist, and father of modern slalom skiing; converted from Methodist background, and was received into the Church in 1933 by Mgsr. Ronald Knox.
• John Michael Talbot (1954-    ); musician, secular Franciscan; convert from lapsed Methodist background (ch. 8 in O'Neill book above) (link: The Story of John Michael Talbot by Dan O'Neill)

Native American

• Black Elk (1863-1950): native American, Lakotan; convert (in 1904) from native American religion
• Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680): native American convert from Mohawk tradition
  

PROFESSIONS

Actors

• Gary Cooper (1901-1961): actor; converted in 1959 (link: Robert Brennan, "Biblical Beginnings and Hollywood Endings")
• Sir Alec Guiness (1914-2000): Academy Award winning actor (67 films); converted on March 24, 1956, from atheist background (links: obituary; "A Conversation with Piers Paul Read, Biographer of Sir Alec Guinness")  
• Bob Hope (Leslie Towns Hope) (1903-2003); actor, entertainer, comedian; converted in 1996 from agnostic background, becoming active member of North Hollywood's St. Charles Catholic Church parish.
• Donegan Smith (living): actor, acting professor; convert from Baptist tradition
• John Wayne (Marion Robert Morrison) (1907-1979): actor; converted before his death from Presbyterian background (not through the influence of Robert Schuller's daughter, as the urban legend has it; the story, however, is both alleged and denied by Alan Dumas)

Athletes

• Arnold Lunn (Henry Moore) (1888-1974): writer, apologist, and father of modern slalom skiing; converted from Methodist background, and was received into the Church in 1933 by Mgsr. Ronald Knox.

Clergy (Catholic)

• Francis Cardinal Arinze (1932-    ): highly placed Vatican official; converted in youth from Nigerian animist tradition.
• Mgsr. Robert Hugh Benson (1871-1914): novelist, priest, apologist, son of E. W. Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury; coverted in 1903 from Anglican tradition (link: Joseph Pearce, "R.H. Benson: Unsung Genius"; www.Benson-Unabridged.Com).
• Fr. Louis Bouyer (1913-2004): theologian, liturgist, priest; former French Lutheran pastor.
• St. Edmund Campion, S.J. (1540-1581): priest and martyr; converted to Catholicism a short time after taking orders as an Anglican deacon, then joined the Jesuits in Rome.
• Edward Caswall (1814-1878); priest of the Birmingham Oratory (founded by Cardinal Newman), poet, translator and hymn-writer; converted in 1847 from tradition of Anglicanism in which he had been an ordained a priest.
• Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. (1918-    ): Jesuit theologian; convert from Presbyterianism (link).
• Frederick William Faber (1814-1863); Oratorian priest, devotional author and hymn writer, appointed by Cardinal Newman to found the London Oratory; converted in 1845 (a month after Newman) from Anglican and Calvinist background.
• Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889): Jesuit priest & poet; convert (in 1917) from Anglicanism.
• Leonard Klein: priest; former editor of the Lutheran Forum and Lutheran minister; converted in 2003 from Lutheran background; ordained a Catholic priest in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2006.
• Arthur Klyber (living): apologist, evangelist, priest, founder of Remnant of Israel: convert from Jewish background.
• Msgr. Ronald Knox (1888-1957): theologian; convert from Anglicanism.
• Jean-Marie Lustiger (1927-    ): Bishop of Paris; convert from Jewish background.
• Henry Edward Cardinal Manning (1808-1892): Archbishop of Westminster; convert from Anglicanism.
• Thomas Merton (1915-1968): Trappist monk, priest, spiritual writer & social critic; convert from agnostic background.
• Fr. Richard John Neuhaus (1939-    ); Priest, editor of First Things, writer, cultural critic; convert from Lutheranism.
• John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890): theologian, Oratorian, founder of Oxford Movement; convert (in 1845) from Anglicanism, former Anglican rector of St. Mary the Virgin, in Oxford.
• Canon Edward Norman: church historian, chancellor of York Minster; convert from Anglicanism.
• St. John Ogilvie, S.J. (1579-1615): priest & martyr; converted from a Scottish Presbyterian (Calvinist) background, canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 17, 1976 (links: Catholic Encyclopedia; Saints Alive; Scottish Festivals).
• Fr. John Putnam (living): priest & canon lawyer; convert from Baptist tradition.
• Alphonse Ratisbonne (1814-1884): Jesuit priest & evangelist to the Jewish household of faith; convert from Jewish background.
• Fr. George Rutler: priest and rector of Holy Name Catholic Church in New York City, where he celebrates the Traditional (Tridentine) Latin Mass; a regular columnist for Crisis magazine, he convert from Anglican background, in which he had been ordained as a priest of the Episcopal Church.  He was ordained by Terence Cardinal Cooke on Sept. 8, 1891.
• Fr. Ray Ryland (1920?-    ): priest, professor of theology (Univ. of San Diego & Franciscan Univ. of Steubenville) & apologist on staff of Catholic Answers; formerly a priest of the Episcopal Church, converted in 1963 with his wife, Ruth, and ordained with a dispensation from the rule of celibacy (Conversion story).

Clergy (former Protestant clergy)

• Fr. Louis Bouyer (1913-2004): theologian, liturgist, priest; former French Lutheran pastor.
• Edward Caswall (1814-1878); priest of the Birmingham Oratory (founded by Cardinal Newman), poet, translator and hymn-writer; converted in 1847 from tradition of Anglicanism in which he had been an ordained a priest.
• St. Edmund Campion, S.J. (1540-1581): priest and martyr; converted to Catholicism a short time after taking orders as an Anglican deacon, then joined the Jesuits in Rome.
• Marcus Grodi (1958?-     ): apologist, president of The Coming Home Network, and host of EWTN's "Journey Home" program; originally a Presbyterian pastor (Conversion story, and his novel, How Firm a Foundation).
• Scott Hahn (1958-    ): biblical theologian, popular writer & speaker; convert from Presbyterianism.
• Kenneth J. Howell (1952-     ): theologian and philosopher of science; convert from Presbyterianism, former pastor.
• Alvin F. Kimel: theologian, author of Pontifications blog; former Episcopal priest, received into the Church in 2005 (co-author of Baltimore Declaration of 1991; editor, Speaking the Christian God: The Holy Trinity and the Challenge of Feminism, and This Is My Name Forever: The Trinity & Gender Language for God)
• Leonard Klein: priest; former editor of the Lutheran Forum and Lutheran minister; converted in 2003 from Lutheran background; ordained a Catholic priest in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2006.
• Msgr. Ronald Knox (1888-1957): theologian; convert from Anglicanism, former Anglican minister.
• Fr. Richard John Neuhaus (1939-    ); Priest, editor of First Things, writer, cultural critic; convert from Lutheranism, former Lutheran pastor.
• Fr. Jay Scott Newman (living): priest, canon lawyer, ecumenist; convert from Anglicanism.
• John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890): theologian, Oratorian, founder of Oxford Movement; convert (in 1845) from Anglicanism, former Anglican rector of St. Mary the Virgin, in Oxford.
• Canon Edward Norman: church historian, chancellor of York Minster; convert from Anglicanism.
• Fr. George Rutler: priest and rector of Holy Name Catholic Church in New York City, where he celebrates the Traditional (Tridentine) Latin Mass; a regular columnist for Crisis magazine, he convert from Anglican background, in which he had been ordained as a priest of the Episcopal Church.  He was ordained by Terence Cardinal Cooke on Sept. 8, 1891.
• Fr. Ray Ryland (1920?-    ): priest, professor of theology (Univ. of San Diego & Franciscan Univ. of Steubenville) & apologist on staff of Catholic Answers; formerly a priest of the Episcopal Church, converted in 1963 with his wife, Ruth, and ordained with a dispensation from the rule of celibacy (Conversion story).

 

Economists

• E.F. Schumacher (1911-1977): internationally influential British economic theorist; converted in 1971 from a background of nominal German Lutheranism and agnosticism after absorbing many Catholic influences from the late 1950s onward, including papal encyclicals, the distributivism of G.K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc and Vincent McNabb, Thomism, and mysticism of writers such as St. Teresa of Avila and Thomas Merton (see Charles Fager, "Small Is Beautiful, and So Is Rome: Surprising Faith of E.F. Schumacher"). 

Jesuits

• St. Edmund Campion, S.J. (1540-1581): priest and martyr; converted to Catholicism a short time after taking orders as an Anglican deacon, then joined the Jesuits in Rome.
• Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. (1918-    ): theologian; convert from Presbyterianism (link)
• Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889): Jesuit priest & poet; convert (in 1917) from Anglicanism
• St. John Ogilvie, S.J. (1579-1615): priest & martyr; converted from a Scottish Presbyterian (Calvinist) background, canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 17, 1976 (links: Catholic Encyclopedia; Saints Alive; Scottish Festivals).
• Alphonse Ratisbonne (1814-1884): Jesuit evangelist to the Jewish household of faith; convert from Jewish background
• Charlie Rich (1899-?): member of Jesuit community in New York City; convert from devout Hasidic Jewish background in Hungary (Friends of Charles Rich)

Lawyers

• Robert H. Bork (1927-    ): American jurist, Yale law professor, U.S. Solicitor General (1973-77), judge for federal Circuit Court of Appeals for D.C. (1982-88), Supreme Court nominee, resident scholar at American Enterprise Institute; converted in 2003 from Protestant background.

Military

• Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne (1611-1675): marshal of France, noted military leader in campaigns in France and Italy during the Thirty Years' War and for his victory in Battle of Dunes (1658); converted 1668 from Huguenot background in which he was educated
• Wesley Kanne Clark (1944-   ): Four Star General (retired), former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO in the Serbia-Kosovo conflict of 1999, Democratic primary candidate for president in 2003/4; converted while in Vietnam (ca. 1970); born half-Jewish, raised Baptist

Musicians & composers

• Edward Caswall (1814-1878); priest of the Birmingham Oratory (founded by Cardinal Newman), poet, translator and hymn-writer; converted in 1847 from tradition of Anglicanism in which he had been an ordained a priest.
• Hermann Cohen (1821-1870): world class pianist & protege of Franz Liszt; convert from Judaism, joined Carmelite order.
• Frederick William Faber (1814-1863); Oratorian priest, devotional author and hymn writer, appointed by Cardinal Newman to found the London Oratory; converted in 1845 (a month after Newman) from Anglican and Calvinist background.
• John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890): violinist, theologian, Oratorian, founder of Oxford Movement; convert (in 1845) from Anglicanism, former Anglican rector of St. Mary the Virgin, in Oxford.
• John Michael Talbot (1954-    ); musician, secular Franciscan; convert from lapsed Methodist background (ch. 8 in O'Neill book above) (link: The Story of John Michael Talbot by Dan O'Neill)

Philosophers

• Mortimer J. Adler (1902-2001): philosopher & founder of Great Books program; convert from secular Judaism & Anglicanism.
• Jimmy (James) Akin: Catholic apologist, philosopher and blogger at Karl Keating's Catholic Answers apologetics organization in San Diego, California; converted from evangelical Presbyterian background (read the story of his conversion in Surprised by Truth: 11 Converts Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic; and "A Triumph and a Tragedy"). 
• Roman Brandstaetter (1906-1987): Jewish writer, biblical translator, and moral philosopher; convert from Polish Jewish background.
• Jay Budziszewski (1960?-    ): philosopher, Univ. of Texas; converted on Easter of 2004 from Anglican, lapsed Baptist and nihilistic background; author of Written on the Heart: The Case for Natural Law (1997) How to Stay Christian in College (1999);  The Revenge of Conscience: Politics and the Fall of Man (2004);  What We Can't Not Know: A Guide (2004); (conversion story).
• Ronda de Sola Chervin (1939-    ): philosopher & apologist; convert from Jewish & atheist background (Book link).
• David B. Currie (living): Catholic apologist & philosopher; convert from Fundamentalist background (author of Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic).
• Paul J. Griffiths (1955-    ): philosopher and theologian, also scholar of Buddhism; taught at Notre Dame, currently at University of Chicago; converted in 1996 with his family, from Anglican background.
• Kenneth J. Howell (1952-     ): theologian and philosopher of science; convert from Presbyterianism, former pastor.
• Peter Kreeft (living): philosopher, apologist & popular writer; convert from Dutch Reformed tradition.
• Alasdair MacIntyre (1929-    ): philosopher; convert from Marxism and agnosticism.
• Jacques Maritain (1882-1973): philosopher; convert from background of agnosticism.
• Raissa Maritain (1883-?): philosopher, poet & mystic, wife of Jacques Maritain; converted from Jewish and agnostic background.
• John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890): theologian, philosopher, Oratorian, founder of Oxford Movement; convert (in 1845) from Anglicanism, former Anglican rector of St. Mary the Virgin, in Oxford.
• Max Scheler (1874-1928): philosopher, a phenomenologist associated with Dietrich von Hildebrand and Edith Stein; converted and baptized Catholic in 1899 from a Jewish background (his mother was Jewish, his father, Lutheran); around 1921 became increasingly non-commital. (For details, see John H. Nota, S.J., Max Scheler: The Man and His Work).
• Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) (1891-1942): philosopher, student of Edmund Husserl, Carmelite nun, martyr; convert from Judaism.
• Dietrich von Hildebrand (1889-1977): philosopher, declared a "Doctor of the Church" by Pope Pius XII; converted in 1914; converted in 1914 from an agnostic background, under the influence of Max Scheler. 

Royalty

• Charles II (1630-1685): King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, when the monarchy was restored in 1660, following Oliver Cromwell's death; converted on his deathbed from Anglican background 
• James II (1633-1701): King of England and Ireland (as James II) and of Scotland (as James VII); converted in 1668 from Anglicanism

Scientists

• Bernard Nathanson: ex-abortionist, one of the seven founding members of NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) converted to Catholicism and was baptized in 1996; from a Jewish and atheist background (See Nathanson's book, The Hand of God: A Journey from Death to Life by the Abortion Doctor Who Changed His Mind).

Theologians

• Fr. Louis Bouyer (1913-2004): theologian, liturgist, priest; former French Lutheran pastor.
• Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. (1918-    ): Jesuit theologian; convert from Presbyterianism (link).
• William R. Farmer: theologian; convert from Methodism
• Douglas Farrow: professor of religious studies at McGill University; converted in 2005 from Anglican background.
• Paul J. Griffiths (1955-    ): philosopher and theologian, also scholar of Buddhism; taught at Notre Dame, currently at University of Chicago; converted in 1996 with his family, from Anglican background.
• Scott Hahn (1958-    ): biblical theologian, popular writer & speaker; convert from Presbyterianism.
• Kenneth J. Howell (1952-     ): theologian and philosopher of science; convert from Presbyterianism, former pastor.
• Reinhard Huetter: theologian, professor at Duke Divinity School; converted in 2004 from Lutheran (ELCA) background (he was received into full communion, together with his wife, on the feast day of Holly Innocents, Dec. 28, 2004)
• Alvin F. Kimel: theologian, author of Pontifications blog; former Episcopal priest, received into the Church in 2005 (co-author of Baltimore Declaration of 1991; editor, Speaking the Christian God: The Holy Trinity and the Challenge of Feminism, and