Notable Converts to the Catholic Faith

I'm going to be incommunicado for another week or so. In the meantime, however, here's a list of Catholic converts I've been working on for some time. If any of you can think of any glaring omissions or notes any errors, I would be most grateful to be advised of them. Eventually I will post the list permanently on my institutional website, but for now, here it is for all of you, my fellow bloggers and blog-readers, to examine.

Classification by:

1. Historical Periods (by century)
2. Religious Background (agnostic, anglican, jewish, native american, etc.)
3. Profession (actors, clergy, composers, philosophers, writers, etc.)

1. HISTORICAL PERIODS:

21st century

• 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).
• 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: 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.

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 (link: Joseph Pearce, "R.H. Benson: Unsung Genius"; http://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 (1899-1998): 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).
• 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).

2. 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")

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"; http://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
• 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
• 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).
• St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821): founder of Sisters of Charity; convert from Episcopalian (Anglican) tradition
• 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 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
• 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 (1899-1998): 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: 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.
• Fr. Richard John Neuhaus; Priest, editor of First Things, writer, cultural critic; convert from Lutheranism

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

3. 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"; http://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.
• 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).

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 (1899-1998): 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 at Auschwitz; 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.
• Scott Hahn (1958- ): biblical theologian, popular writer & speaker; convert from Presbyterianism.
• 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.
• 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: 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.
• 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.
• 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).

Writers, Novelists & Poets

• Roman Brandstaetter (1906-1987): Jewish writer, biblical translator, and moral philosopher; convert from Polish Jewish background.
• 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"; http://www.benson-unabridged.com/).
• Christopher Derrick (living): Catholic apologist, author & critic ; convert from Anglicanism.
• Shusaku Endo (1923-1996): novelist; convert from agnosticism.
• Scott Hahn (1958- ): biblical theologian, popular writer & speaker; convert from Presbyterianism.
• Thomas Howard (living, retired): English professor & writer; convert from Evangelicalism (ch. 9 in O'Neill book below).
• 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.
• 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).
• Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889): Jesuit priest & poet; convert (in 1917) from Anglicanism.
• Msgr. Ronald Knox (1888-1957): theologian & apologist; convert from Anglicanism.
• Peter Kreeft (living): philosopher, apologist & popular writer; convert from Dutch Reformed tradition.
• 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.
• Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980); literary, cultural & media critic; conversion from agnostic background.
• Raissa Maritain (1883-?): philosopher, poet & mystic, wife of Jacques Maritain; converted from Jewish and agnostic background.
• Thomas Merton (1915-1968): Trappist monk, priest, spiritual writer & social critic; convert from agnostic background.
• Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990) Editor of Punch magazine; convert from Anglicanism and agnostic. background.
• Fr. Richard John Neuhaus (1939- ); Priest, editor of First Things, writer, cultural critic; convert from Lutheranism.
• 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.
• Muriel Spark (1918- ): Scottish novelist, made a Dame of the British Empire in 1993; converted in 1954 from Jewish and Presbyterian parentage (link: infoplease).
• 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)
• Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966): novelist and social critic; convert from secularized Anglicanism and skepticism

ALL SAINTS (Fanfare for the Common Man)

• Anne, stay-at-home mom (an attorney long, long ago), who followed a winding path from Congregationalist, to Presbyterian, to Missouri Synod Lutheran, to my true home in Rome.
• Benjamin (Jamie) Blosser, patrologist, blogger at Ad Limina Apostolorum; convert from evangelical Reformed background.
• Christopher Blosser, apologist, blogger at Christopher's Web, and at director of Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club website, convert from evangelical Reformed background.
• Nathaniel Blosser, Navy radiologist, apologist; convert from evangelical Reformed background.
• Philip Blosser, philosopher, apologist, convert from Anglican, Reformed, and Anabaptist background.
• Sean Fagan: philosophy student; convert from Baptist background via Lutheranism.
• Thomas L. Casey, attorney, once a Baptist
• Joseph Cody: electrical engineer; convert from Baptist tradition.
• William J. Cork, apologist, author of Tischreden ("A Catholic Blog with a Lutheran Accent"), Director of Young Adult & Campus Ministry in the Archdiocese of Glaveston - Houston; formerly a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; from Adventist background (see his conversion story, "Why I am a Catholic")
• Jayson Franklin (living): teacher, father; convert from evangelical Protestantism.
• Alicia Huntley (correspondence: 2005): mom, midwife, occasional writer, blogger (Fructus Ventris); convert from the Anglican tradition after a short flirtation with the idea of Orthodox Judaism.
• Jared L. Olar (correspondence: 2005): journalist, husband, father; born and raised in Armstrongism, converted to the Apostolic Faith almost five years ago (link: online article by Olar).
• Benjamin Naasko, frustrated office worker, convert from atheism/secular leftism.
• Susan Peterson, mother, registered nurse, disability analyst, convert from atheism via Anglicanism.
• Benjamin Adam Roberts (1976- ): candidate for priesthood in the Diocese of Charlotte, NC; converted October, 30, 1999 from a Lutheran background (educated by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate)
• Stephen Starr: master trumpet player, singer, humorist, gastronome, connoiseur of firearms and history buff; convert from a Lutheran background. (Link to Stephen's Place: The Trumpeter's Pulpit blog)
• Dave Walker, teacher, attorney, raconteur, blogger; convert from Baptist tradition and agnosticism.
• David Warren: Canadian journalist, columnist for Crisis magazine; converted from Anglican background in 2003 (see DavidWarrenOnline, and his essay on "Apostate Catholics").
• Matthew Yoder: graduate student in biblical studies; convert from Lutheran tradition.