A fallen away Catholic who had studied for the priesthood, Durant left the Faith as a young man but never hated it, as his eleven volume History of Civilization amply illustrates. Dying, he confessed his sins, received the Last Rites, and embraced the Faith of his youth and of eternity.
Greetings Donald R. McClarey: has anyone ever mentioned that in your photo here you resemble the Federal Civil War General Rosecrans, who was also a devout Catholic? Or maybe that’s the intention..
That’s the intention Joe. I have long been an admirer of Old Rosie, and the photo is one of him from early in the War.
I did not know that Will Durant came back to the Church on his deathbed. Wikipedia states: “On his personal religious beliefs, Durant wrote that “I am prepared to have you put me down as an atheist, since I have reluctantly abandoned belief in a personal and loving God. But I am loathe to leave the word God out of my life and creed”, adding that he was “a Christian in the literal and difficult sense of sincerely admiring the personality of Christ and making a persistent effort to behave like a Christian.”
Yes, Durant reconciled with the Faith before the end.
https://www.shu.edu/news/historian-and-philosopher-will-durant.html