Taylor Reed Marshall (born March 29, 1978) is an American
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
writer and
YouTube commentator. A former
Episcopal Church priest, Marshall converted to Catholicism and became an advocate of
traditionalist Catholicism
Traditionalist Catholicism is a movement that emphasizes beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions and presentations of teaching associated with the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). Tr ...
. He is the author of multiple books, including ''Infiltration: The Plot to Destroy the Church from Within'' and his bestselling historical fiction series ''Sword and Serpent''. Marshall currently teaches at the New Saint Thomas Institute, an online Catholic education institute that he founded in 2013 with students from over 70 nations.
In 2023, Marshall announced he was running as a candidate in the
2024 United States presidential election
United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. The Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's Ticket (election), ticket—Donald Trump, who was the 45th president of ...
.
Education and priesthood
Marshall graduated magna cum laude from
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
in 2000 with a
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree in philosophy.
After studying at
Westminster Theological Seminary
Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian theology, theological seminary in the Reformed theology, Reformed theological tradition in Glenside, Pennsylvania. It was founded by members of the faculty of Prince ...
and
Nashotah House
Nashotah House is an Anglican seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin. The seminary opened in 1842 and received its official charter in 1847. The institution is independent and generally regarded as one of the more theologically conservative seminaries ...
, Marshall was ordained a
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
of the
Episcopal Church in 2005 by
Jack Iker
Jack Leo Iker (August 31, 1949 – October 5, 2024) was an American Anglican bishop. From 1995 to 2019, he was the third bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. In this capacity, he was a leading figure in the Anglican realignment, overs ...
, the
Bishop of Fort Worth. Marshall had previously served as a youth minister at
Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church while an Episcopal
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions.
Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
.
Shortly thereafter, in 2006, he and his wife converted to Catholicism. They received
confirmation
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...
from Bishop
Kevin Vann
Kevin William Vann (born May 10, 1951) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Orange in Southern California since 2012. Vann previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wo ...
in May 2006.
Post-conversion
In 2009, Marshall earned his
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
degree in philosophy, and in 2011 earned a
Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...
degree in philosophy, at the
University of Dallas
The University of Dallas is a Private university, private Catholic church, Catholic university in Irving, Texas, United States. Established in 1956, it is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Southern Associat ...
with his 600 page doctoral dissertation "Thomas Aquinas on Natural Law and the Twofold Beatitude of Humanity."
From January 2012 until June 2013, Marshall served as the
chancellor
Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
of the former
College of Saints John Fisher & Thomas More. Prior to his administrative work at the college, he was a professor of philosophy. Marshall also formerly served as the assistant director of the
Archdiocese of Washington
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...
's Catholic Information Center.
He is a founder of the New Saint Thomas Institute, an online Catholic theology educational program, and the
Troops of Saint George, a Catholic
scouting
Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...
organization.
Marshall has published books in the fields of theology, philosophy, and historical fiction. All but one have been self-published by Saint John Press and Media, a company held and managed by Marshall.
His 2019 book, ''Infiltration'', claims to demonstrate that, over the last two centuries, the
hierarchy of the Catholic Church
The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy ordering" of the church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gif ...
has been actively subverted to promote
Freemasonic power.
The foreword of the book was written by Bishop
Athanasius Schneider
Athanasius Schneider, O.R.C. (born Anton Schneider on 7 April 1961) is a Catholic prelate, serving as the Auxiliary Bishop of Astana in Kazakhstan. He is a member of the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra. He is known for championi ...
. The book has been controversial in Catholic circles, drawing both positive and negative reviews from various media outlets. Marshall, on his YouTube channel, regularly comments on statements from Archbishop
Carlo Maria Viganò
Carlo Maria Viganò (; born 16 January 1941) is an Italian traditionalist Catholic archbishop and conspiracy theorist who served as Apostolic Nuncio to the United States from 2011 to 2016 and as secretary-general of the Governorate of Vatican ...
, former Nuncio to the United States.
In October 2019, Marshall received media attention for publicizing an incident at the Catholic Church's
Amazon Synod in which
Alexander Tschugguel
Alexander Tschugguel (born 24 June 1993 in Vienna) is an Austrian conservative political and Traditionalist Catholic activist. He was a founding member of The Reform Conservatives, a defunct Austrian conservative political party that set out to a ...
and an accomplice filmed themselves removing indigenous statues, reportedly of
Pachamama
Pachamama is a goddess revered by the Indigenous peoples of the Andes. In Inca mythology she is an " Earth Mother" type goddess, Dransart, Penny. (1992) "Pachamama: The Inka Earth Mother of the Long Sweeping Garment." ''Dress and Gender: Makin ...
, from the
Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina in Rome and throwing them into the
Tiber
The Tiber ( ; ; ) is the List of rivers of Italy, third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the R ...
river. In March 2020, it was revealed that Marshall himself had personally funded Tschugguel's trip to Rome and uploaded the video of the theft.
Marshall briefly received attention from
Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign for popularizing Archbishop Viganò's letter warning of a
deep state
Deep state is a term used for (real or imagined) potential, unauthorized and often secret networks of power operating independently of a State (polity), state's political leadership in pursuit of their own agendas and goals.
Although the term ori ...
working to undermine the United States of America.
Marshall was noticed by the campaign in return, and retweeted on the
president's Twitter account. Traditionalist Catholic writer Matthew Walther criticized both Marshall's advocacy for then-President Trump and his claims against
Pope Francis
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
. Walther accused Marshall of "distorting or simply lying" about the pope in order to anger Catholics.
Personal life
Marshall met his wife, Joy McPherson, in 1999. They were married on June 9, 2001, at
Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church in
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
. They have eight children.
Books
With the exception of ''Infiltration'' and ''Christian Patriot'', Marshall's books are self-published under the imprint of Saint John Press and Media, a company held and managed by Marshall.
* ''The Origins of Catholicism'' trilogy
** ''The Crucified Rabbi: Judaism and the Origins of Catholic Christianity'' (Saint John Press, 2009)
** ''The Catholic Perspective on Paul: Paul and the Origins of Catholic Christianity'' (Saint John Press, 2010)
** ''The Eternal City: Rome & the Origins of Catholic Christianity'' (Saint John Press, 2012)
* ''Thomas Aquinas in 50 Pages: A Layman's Quick Guide to Thomism'' (Saint John Press, 2014)
* The ''Sword and Serpent'' trilogy
** ''Sword and Serpent'' (Saint John Press, 2014)
** ''The Tenth Region of the Night'' (Saint John Press, 2016)
** ''Storm of Fire and Blood'' (Saint John Press, 2017)
* ''Saint Augustine in 50 Pages: The Layman's Quick Guide to Augustinianism'' (Saint John Press, 2015)
* ''Infiltration: The Plot to Destroy the Church from Within'' (
Sophia Institute Press
Sophia Institute Press is a non-profit conservative Catholic publishing company based in Nashua, New Hampshire, United States.
It publishes Catholic books, the online opinion journal ''Crisis Magazine'', the traditionalist Catholic website ''One ...
, 2019)
* ''The Rosary in 50 Pages: The Layman's Quick Guide to Mary's Psalter'' (Saint John Press, 2020)
* ''Antichrist and Apocalypse: The 21 Prophecies of Revelation Unveiled and Described'' (Saint John Press, 2022)
* ''Christian Patriot: 12 Ways to Create One Nation Under God'' (Post Hill Press, 2025)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Taylor Reed
1978 births
Living people
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century Roman Catholics
American academic administrators
American male non-fiction writers
American philosophy academics
American religion and spirituality podcasters
American religious writers
American traditionalist Catholics
Anglican priest converts to Roman Catholicism
Candidates in the 2024 United States presidential election
Christian apologists
Philosophers from Texas
Texas A&M University alumni
Thomists
Traditionalist Catholic writers
University of Dallas alumni
Westminster Theological Seminary alumni
YouTubers from Fort Worth, Texas