This is me, Eccles

This is me, Eccles
This is me, Eccles

Saturday, 21 February 2026

The World Cup of Catholic Converts

Some people approve of Catholic converts; others, like Austen Ivereigh, think they are neurotic. Anyway, it's time for another world cup, once again to be conducted by Twitter (X) polls. There is room for a few more nominations: the conditions are that the convert (1) must be dead, and (2) must have converted in adultood (also, must be reasonably well known, so don't nominate your great-aunt unless she's famous). Let's keep things post-Reformation to avoid St Matthew, St Paul, or St Augustine of Hippo running away with the whole thing. Also, my decision is final.

Alec Guinness

Alec Guinness as GKC's Father Brown.

So far I have the following nominees:
Alec Guinness
Augustus Pugin
Avery Dulles
Buffalo Bill Cody
Claud McKay
Dorothy Day
Edith Nesbit
Edith Stein
Evelyn Waugh
Frederick William Faber
G.K. Chesterton
Gary Cooper
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Graham Greene
John Henry Newman
John Wayne
Malcolm Muggeridge
Mortimer Adler
Muriel Spark
Oscar Wilde
Robert Hugh Benson
Ronald Knox
Siegfried Sassoon
Thomas Merton
Buffalo Bill Cody

Buffalo Bill Cody

Nominations may be made by replying to this post, or to its advert on Twitter.

24 comments:

  1. I will nominate John Senior and Edmund Campion.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Eccles.

    Congratulations on your magnificent latest World Cup.

    Presumably, Mr. Hitler would not be allowed into your list of nominees ?

    ReplyDelete
  3. A big NO to Thomas Merton! But yet to Fr. Faber and Msgr. Benson.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Eccles,

    Francis Libermann, the second founder of the Spiritans, died 1852. And, Alphonse Ratisbonne, who died 1884.

    ReplyDelete
  5. John William Hunwicke

    ReplyDelete
  6. Michael Treharne Davies

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dr Eric de Saventhem

    ReplyDelete
  8. Michael Davies gets my vote all the time.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Bernard Nathanson, founder of NARAL, abortion advocate who renounced it and became Catholic.

    Kenneth Clark, narrated the excellent BBC series, Civilization.

    Norman Lear, producer of All in The Family. He converted at the age of 100.

    Fr Zuhlsdorf's (Fr Z) mom-she converted recently in hospice at 91 and died recently.

    Roy Shoeman, Harvard Business School Professor and convert from Orthodox Judaism.

    Malcolm Muggeridge, English media personality who placed an unknown Albanian nun by the name of Mother Theresa on his TV show,

    Marshall McLuhan, Canadian intellectual and the author of The Medium is the Message.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shoeman is still alive. I will take most of the others.

      Delete
  10. Bartolo Longo could be an interesting candidate.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very interesting! But he is a revert not a convert (he was brought up as a Catholic) so I shall exclude him.

      Delete
  11. Is grate anti moly a cradle catholic or a convert? Oh wait, she still kicking, but we have not heard about her in a while. Anyway, Cornelia Connelly who died in 1879. And, there is Elizabeth Anne Seton who died in 1821.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll accept CC and EAS, but not Moly (wherever she is now).

      Delete
  12. OK, let's close the nominations here, with 55 names, so that I can start tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Edith Stein alias Suor Teresa Benedetta della Croce

    ReplyDelete
  14. Yes, that's the one. She's on the list above.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Bertrand Russell

    ReplyDelete