John Wayne, Cardiac Catholic

American Catholic History

Noelle & Tom Crowe

History, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Education

5 • 724 Ratings

🗓️ 19 June 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

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Summary

John Wayne, the icon of American manliness and one of the most important film stars of all time, once called himself a "cardiac Catholic." He meant that he intended to become Catholic on his deathbed. Born Marion Morrison he was raised a Presbyterian, but all three of his wives were Catholic. We're not sure how that worked out, since none of them predeceased him, but we leave that to God's grace and the wisdom of the Church. However, the example of many Catholics in his life, particularly his first wife, had a deep impression on him. Despite serious problems with infidelity, John Wayne did manage to become Catholic and make his amends with God before his death.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to American Catholic history.
0:07.3	If you like our podcast, help others find it by sharing this episode and giving us a five-star
0:13.1	rating wherever you get your podcast.
0:15.5	I'm Noel Hester Crowe.
0:16.6	And I'm Tom Crow.
0:17.9	Today we're talking about the Duke, John Wayne, a man synonymous with true masculinity
0:24.0	and toughness, but not really for being Catholic. No, his story is interesting for the
0:30.6	combination of frankness, self-will, and recognition of his own weakness, really. He was born and raised
0:36.9	Presbyterian, but he was around
0:39.0	Catholicism for most of his life. And when asked about his faith, sometimes he would call himself
0:43.5	a cardiac Catholic. That is, he intended to become Catholic just before he died. Hmm, the Constantine
0:51.1	option. Yeah, really. So his deathbed conversion wasn't really a surprise, but holding off until the last second and
0:57.3	hoping you have an opportunity before the curtain falls is not advisable.
1:01.5	You may not get that opportunity.
1:03.8	Fortunately for Wayne, he did.
1:06.0	Right.
1:06.7	But there was a lot of life before that bittersweet day.
1:10.0	So let's go back to 1907 when he was born in Iowa to Presbyterian parents.
1:16.3	His name at birth was Marion Robert Morrison, though some sources give other middle names like Michael and Mitchell.
1:24.0	Regardless, the first name Marion is not as manly as John Wayne and certainly not
1:29.1	the Duke. No, that nickname actually came from his childhood dog. His family had a large
1:35.6	Erdale Terrier named Duke. And since young Marion was always seen with the dog, some
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