Ann Arbor, Michigan, May 27, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
The phenomenon of celebrity conversions to the faith has taken center stage, especially on social media, and they have been widely welcomed by prominent Catholic clergy and commentators.
Going viral on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms has been news about popular actors and political activists, among others, who have joined the Catholic faith or otherwise announced their conversions to Christianity.
Their ranks include actor Shia LaBeouf, who was raised by a Jewish mother but entered the Catholic Church in 2023 and was confirmed by Bishop Robert Barron. LaBeouf, 37, played the title character in “Padre Pio,” the 2022 movie about the famed Italian friar who received the stigmata. Political commentator and media personality Candace Owens, 35, who has recently faced accusations of antisemitism, also announced last month on X that she had “come home” to the Catholic Church.
The phenomenon has not been limited to well-known Americans such as LaBeouf and Owens. They also include Dutch lawyer and activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek, 27, who has termed the Catholic faith as the “most powerful weapon” to allay moral relativism, and 48-year-old British actor Russell Brand.
As Vlaardingerbroek became involved in politics in her native Netherlands, she said in an April 2023 interview with National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner: “I wholeheartedly realized that we aren’t just fighting a political fight (right vs. left), but that we are dealing with a spiritual fight (good vs. evil).” She cited Professor Peter Kreeft among those who inspired her in her conversion.
In the case of Brand, he announced on social media that he was baptized in England’s River Thames on April 28, sharing a photograph of his baptism, where he was accompanied by media personality and evangelical Christian Bear Grylls. He did not reveal who baptized him. Catholics and Orthodox Christians are typically not baptized in bodies of water such as rivers. According to canon law, “apart from a case of necessity, the proper place of baptism is a church or oratory.”
The news of Brand’s conversion was also met with controversy because it came just months after he was accused of rape and sexual assault by several women in reports filed by British media. Brand denied the accusations during an interview with U.S. media personality Tucker Carlson.
In a recent video, Brand was seen praying the rosary, saying that it had been given to him by his friend “Joe,” who also taught him the prayers. Brand’s wife of six years, author Laura Gallacher, is a Catholic. Along with fellow actors Mark Wahlberg and Jonathan Roumie, Brand has promoted the Catholic prayer app Hallow. He has also said that he has watched videos by Catholic priest Father Mike Schmitz.
Brand said he was “changed, transitioned” by the baptism but realizes that some observers may be cynical about his profession of faith because “people see me as a celebrity.”
CNA reached out to several Catholic observers of the phenomenon, themselves prominent in social and other media, for their take. Bishop Robert Barron, founder of Word on Fire and one of the most-followed Catholics on social media, told CNA that when he heard of Brand’s conversion and baptism, he was reminded of the parable of the lost sheep in the Gospel of Luke, in which Christ concluded “there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than 90 righteous persons who need no repentance.”
Noting that Brand is a public figure, Barron said that it is “not really shocking that his conversion is a public matter, and given, again in Brand’s own words ‘for someone like me associated with a decadent, hedonistic lifestyle, a move like this is surprising.’”
Barron went on to say: “I would add for some, it is also unsettling because it reminds us that Christ himself revealed that his primary mission is the reconciliation of sinners, and as such this is the mission of Christ’s followers as well. The Church is not a closed society for the perfectly virtuous, but it is instead a refuge for sinners.”
Barron said he found Brand’s explanation for religious awakening to be “striking,” quoting the Englishman’s statement that “‘the figure, the personage, the presence of Christ became overwhelming, unavoidable, welcome, and necessary.’ This apparent quickening of faith in the Lord Jesus compelled him to seek baptism.”
“Many Christians will recognize in Brand’s testimony a similar experience,” Barron said. “But they will also see in Brand’s acknowledgement of his own continued imperfections the truth that we are all sinners who are the recipients of an amazing, undeserved grace.”
In an interview with CNA, Monsignor Charles Pope — a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and regular contributor to the National Catholic Register — said: “We shouldn’t be cynical. Sometimes when negative things happen in their lives, that’s when they turn to God. So I would first assume good faith on their part.”
As to the reason for the uptick in the number of prominent figures joining the Catholic Church, Pope said: “I think it comes down to the current situation in the world today that is spiritually empty. People are searching for meaning because man is a religious animal. Some are returning to the sources that we hold most sacred. I think that’s where it comes from.”
Pope added: “After a while, after all the faddishness, movements, and things coming and going, people begin to say, ‘Well, things seem to change every six months. Why don’t I stick to something more stable’ as they look for deeper meaning. That’s how I understand these kinds of conversions. For all our troubles in the Church, we have a solid base of meaning.”
Meanwhile, Rob Corzine, vice president of academic programs at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology and host of EWTN’s “Genesis to Jesus” with Dr. Scott Hahn, offered a nuanced analysis. “There are two dangers to beware of. First, some are inclined to be cynical about celebrities’ sincerity. We should avoid that and rejoice over the conversions of the famous just as we would anyone else,” Corzine said.
“However, the second trap is to rush a brand-new convert onto a stage and try to make them a spokesperson for the faith, to exploit their platform or access to media. That too we must avoid,” Corzine cautioned. “There is always a great deal of learning and growing to do for new Catholics. In the public eye is not really the best place for that.”
Brand himself seemed to echo Corzine when he said: “This is new for me. I’m learning. And I will make mistakes. But this is my path now. And I already feel incredibly blessed.”
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
Cynicism can be attributed to Freudian conversion envy, persons who are not at peace with themselves, who lack the integrity to accept faith in Christ’s revelation to the world. The world’s glitter and sensual offerings have a strong hold on the masses, even those who can’t afford or have the wherewithal to indulge it, but crave it via the media and the virtual. The Prince of this world is a master impresario.
Dear Father, the issue is realistic, that trusts but validates as their formation depends strongly if in the modern Jesuit or traditional Dominican. Many of us are too Catholic by some and insufficiently Catholic by others with the Church.
I am a “revert” myself, and can personally support the fact that occasional suddenness of conversion moments are real. I had left the church for almost 2 decades after a personal tragedy. Thankfully found my way back on the gentle suggestion of a friend and mentor I respected. I was thunderstruck by the experience. Just an ordinary Mass on an ordinary day, my first in 17 years, but I felt as though I had been suddenly awakened. I wanted what I had been missing. And I began to attend daily Mass. Six years later, I still attend daily Mass. I can testify that being back at church is superior to being away from it. Your quality of life will be better, and YOU will be a better person. Bravo to Shia LaBeouf, Owens and Brand for finding their way home.I hope many will follow their example.
These conversions are no less real for their occasional suddenness. Celebrities have souls too!!
All should be celebrated for heeding Gods’ call. But not paraded because they happen to be known.
Many celebrities have tens of thousands of fans who watch their every move. If their actions as a celebrity can be highlighted for the good, why wouldn’t you want that information to come out? Its not impossible it could trigger a thought for fans of the celebrity to at least try to understand what they are doing, and for some, consider whether this is an appropriate action for they themselves to take. Don’t put your light under a barrel and all that. Sometimes all people need is a suggestion such as the one I got, or a little bit of encouragement, however people find that. The Apostles didnt get converts by keeping the news about Jesus to themselves.
Thank you. There is nothing more dangerous than “celebrity Catholicism”— how many have I seen fall from grace in a terrible way. The demons target these souls, because their downfall often brings others along. We should simply say “welcome” to these folks and then be about the business of saving our own souls… as should they.
I can’t help but wonder if these celebrity converts, and not just the celebrity ones, but the “regular folks” who join, accept the teachings on contraception and sterilization, IVF, and the like.
If their version of RCIA (or whatever it is now called) was anything like mine, those topics never came up. It’s all very Pre-Vatican II stuff, optional. Not required. Kind of like midnight Mass attendance on Christmas Eve/Day.
It all depends on what Church you go to for catechisis. Our Parish always go over the hot button topic with our Adult RCIA.
I am not concerned about celebrity conversions, but I do find celebrity bishops like Barron to be problematic.
I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Corzine’s “second trap” caution, while not distrusting the movement of the Holy Spirit in anyone’s life. The phenomenological aspect of faith seems to have prevailed over the contemplative in the post-conciliar Church, everywhere from the liturgy to conversion stories. While Catholic from infant baptism, and intentionally so in my adult years, I have benefitted greatly from the literary converts of the earlier 20th century, and now most recently from the Scholasticism defended by Drs. Matthew Minerd, John Kirwan, and the contributions Thomism can make to ressourcement, in combatting the “resurgent Rahnerianism” (Dr. Matthew Levering) currently underway.
To this discussion I will add the conversion of Dr. Scott Hahn. Now well known as a Catholic theologian, Mr. Hahn got his start as a Protestant minister with no great love for Catholics. He attended an ordinary Mass one day, never having attended before, in the course of his ongoing research about Christianity’s roots. He went to that Mass with no expectation of finding much of note. He found himself stunned by what he saw, resulting in many more trips back to this same Mass and a strong wish to receive Communion. He was well known in Protestant circles, and his conversion to Catholicism lead to the conversion of many more. Read about his conversion story in his book “Rome Sweet Home.” A pleasant and interesting book.