The Catholic Defender: Actress Susan Hayward embraced Catholicism later in life following intense personal trials.

Susan Hayward officially converted to Catholicism in the mid-1960s, following a deeply emotional promise made to her dying second husband, Floyd Eaton Chalkley.

Prior to her conversion, the Oscar-winning actress was known to rely heavily on astrology. However, her life shifted dramatically through her marriage to Chalkley, a devout businessman and former federal agent. The couple lived happily on a farm in Carrollton, Georgia, and even donated land to help build Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church. 

In late 1965, Chalkley became dangerously ill with hepatitis. On his deathbed in January 1966, he expressed deep concern for Hayward's soul and asked her to convert so they could eventually be reunited in heaven. Hayward gave him her promise.

Following months of religious instruction from a family friend, Father Daniel J. McGuire, Hayward traveled incognito to Pittsburgh. On June 30, 1966—her 49th birthday—she was baptized and received into the Catholic Church at SS. Peter and Paul's Roman Catholic Church. 

Hayward’s faith became a cornerstone of her resilience as she faced severe personal trials later in life. After losing her husband, she was diagnosed with brain cancer in the early 1970s. Doctors initially gave her only a few months to live, but she fought a courageous two-year battle against the disease.

Throughout her illness, she clung heavily to her faith. When she passed away on March 14, 1975, she was holding a crucifix that had been gifted to her by Pope John XXIII years earlier. She was laid to rest next to her husband at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cemetery in Georgia, with her epitaph reading: “I am the resurrection and the life.”