Meet some of the real men of the Roman Catholic Church––saints, scoundrels, & sundry––from all eras. @RealRCWomen's companion. By historian @bronwenmcshea.

New York, New York
Joined October 2026
Real Roman Catholic Men retweeted
The conversion to Catholicism in Europe of the American revolutionary chaplain gained international attention in the late 18th & early 19th centuries, as his conversion story was published in multiple languages, including French.
Meet JOHN THAYER (c. 1758-1815) of Boston. After Yale, he was a Congregationalist minister & chaplain during the American Revolution but became a Catholic in Rome, studied with French Sulpicians, was the first New Englander ordained a priest, & ministered in the USA & Ireland.
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Real Roman Catholic Men retweeted
Meet LORENZO DE' MEDICI (1449-1492), banking heir; ruler of Florence; unfaithful husband to Clarice Orsini; father of PP Leo X & 9 others; patron of Botticelli, Michelangelo, Ficino, & many more artists & scholars; & benefactor of the Dominicans, Augustinians, & other religious.
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Real Roman Catholic Men retweeted
If you like my account @RealRCWomen, you may be interested in its new companion account, @RealRCMen. Here is my second post there:
Meet MVEMBA A NZINGA / AFONSO I (c. 1456-1543), warrior, King of Kongo, & Catholic convert who adopted some Portuguese customs at his court, maintained diplomatic ties with Portugal & the Papal States, & had a son, Henrique, educated in Europe & appointed as Kongo's 1st bishop.
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Real Roman Catholic Men retweeted
Many Catholics today don't know that at the time of the Protestant Reformation & early European expansion in the Americas, Catholic Christendom wasn't just European but extended into Central Africa.
Meet MVEMBA A NZINGA / AFONSO I (c. 1456-1543), warrior, King of Kongo, & Catholic convert who adopted some Portuguese customs at his court, maintained diplomatic ties with Portugal & the Papal States, & had a son, Henrique, educated in Europe & appointed as Kongo's 1st bishop.
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Real Roman Catholic Men retweeted
I have created a companion account to @RealRCWomen, called (of course) @RealRCMen. I will see how it takes off in the coming days, & I will likely post once every other day on both accounts now. And, I will not cross-post too much between the two accounts to keep things streamlined! In any case, please follow and share if this interests you! And thanks if you do!
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