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Catholic Online Library

Endeavor to have always in your hand a pious book, that with this shield you may defend yourself against bad thoughts.” -Saint Jerome, Father and Doctor of the Church

This is a collection of Catholic Books in the Public Domain, many of which are in ready for download format in various eBook (and in some cases eAudioBook) file types.  In your charity please say an Ave for all those who have labored to make these texts (and audio recordings) available to us.  If you discover a dead/incorrect link please report it to the webmaster.

*Nota Bene*: This page will be periodically updated.


Jump to a Section:

Required Reading
Sacred Scripture
The Saints
Spiritual Reading
Theology
Philosophy
Liturgy
History
Literature


Required Reading

The Three Books That Will Change Your Life

The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas a Kempis

A Catechism of Modernism, by Rev. Fr. Jean Baptiste Lemius, O.M.I.

The Everlasting Man  (*AudioBook*), by G.K. Chesterton

Saint Teresa’s Bookmark: A Meditative Commentary, by Blessed Lucas of Saint Joseph

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Sacred Scripture


The Vulgatam Clementinam – The Official Text of Sacred Scripture of the Roman Catholic Church per The Council of Trent

The Challoner Douay-Rheims Bible – The Most Faithful English Translation of the Clementine Vulgate

The Haydock Bible – The Challoner Douay-Rheims with an extended commentary by Blessed George Leo Haydock, Priest and Martyr

English Versions of the Bible, by the Very Rev. Monsignor Hugh Pope, O.P.

The Great Commentary of the Rev. Fr. Cornelius a Lapide, S.J. (the extant portions in English)…

Volume I – Matthew I-IX
Volume II – Matthew X-XXI
Volume III – Matthew XXII-XXVIII & Mark
Volume IV – Luke
Volume V – John I-XI
Volume VI – John XII-XXI & Epistles I, II, and III
Volume VII – I Corinthians
Volume VIII – II Corinthians & Galatians


The Catena Aurea, by Saint Thomas Aquinas – A commentary on the four Gospels collected from the works of the Fathers.  Translated into English by Blessed John Henry Newman…

-Volume I – Saint Matthew – Part IPart IIPart III
-Volume II – Saint Mark – Complete
-Volume III – Saint Luke – Part IPart II
-Volume IV – Saint John – Part IPart II

 

Scriptural Commentaries of Saint Thomas Aquinas

-Psalms (Latin & English / English)

-Commentary on Job (Latin & English / English)

-Lamentations of Jeremiah (Latin & English / English)

-Matthew (Latin & English)

-John (Latin & English / English)

-1 Corinthians (Latin & English / English)

-2 Corinthians (Latin & English / English)

-Galatians (Latin & English / English)

-Ephesians (Latin & English / English)

-Philippians (Latin & English / English)

-Colossians (Latin & English / English)

-1 Thessalonians (Latin & English / English)

-Hebrews (Latin & English / English)

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The Saints


~Holy Family~

The Glories of Mary, by Saint Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri

The Life and Glories of St. Joseph, by Edward Healy Thompson


~Biographies~

Victories of the Martyrs, by Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

Life of Saint Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri, by a Member of the Order of Mercy

Ultimate Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face Book List

Life of St. John of the Cross of the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, by Fra Joseph of Jesus and Mary

A Modern Martyr: Theophane Vénard, by the Very Rev. James A. Walsh

The Greek Fathers, the Rev. Father Adrian Fortescue

Life of Saint Benedict, by Pope Saint Gregory the Great

Life of Saint Antony of the Desert, by Saint Athanasius (*AudioBook*)

Saint Athanasius, by F. A. Forbes

Life of Saint Augustine of Hippo, by Saint Possidius (*AudioBook*)

Life of Saint Hilarion, by Saint Jerome

Life of Saint Paulus the First Hermit, by Saint Jerome

Life of Saint Macrina, by Saint Gregory of Nyssa (*AudioBook*)

The Most Ancient Lives of Saint Patrick, by Rev. Fr. James O’Leary, D.D.

Life of St. Declan of Ardmore and Life of St. Mochuda of Lismore

Life of St. Vincent de Paul, by F. A. Forbes

Life of Saint Monica, by F. A. Forbes

Pope Pius the Tenth, by F. A. Forbes

Life of Saint Columba, by F. A. Forbes

Life of Venerable Leon Papin-Dupont: the Holy Man of Tours, by Edward Healy Thompson

The life of St. Stanislas Kostka, of the Company of Jesus, by Edward Healy Thompson

The Life of Jean-Jacques Olier, Founder of the Seminary of St. Sulpice, by Edward Healy Thompson

The Life of the Venerable Anna Maria Taigi, the Roman Matron, by Edward Healy Thompson

The Life of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, of the Company of Jesus, by Edward Healy Thompson

An Open Letter to the Reverend Dr. Hyde of Honolulu, by Robert Louis Stevenson (In defense of Saint Damien of Molokai)


~Autobiographies~

Life of Teresa of Jesus, by Saint Teresa of Avila

Story of a Soul, by Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face (*AudioBook*)

Apologia pro Vita Sua, by Blessed John Henry Newman

The Autobiography of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

The Confessions of Saint Augustine (In Original Latin)

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Spiritual Reading

On Prayer and The Contemplative Life, by Saint Aquinas Thomas

The Precious Blood: or, The Price of our Salvation, by Fr. Frederick William Faber

On the Duties of the Clergy (*AudioBook*), by Saint Ambrose of Milan

Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation, by Saint Thomas More

Letters of Catherine Benincasa, by Saint of Catherine of Siena

Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year, Collected by Rev. Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, O.F.M.

The Cross and the Shamrock, by Rev. Father Hugh Quigley

The Miraculous Medal – Its Origin, History, Circulation, Results – by M. Aladel, C.M.

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Theology
Denzinger’s Sources of Catholic Dogma

A History of Heresies and their Refutation, by Saint Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri

Summa Theologiae – Prima Pars, by Saint Thomas Aquinas

Summa Theologiae – Pars Prima Secundae, by Saint Thomas Aquinas

Summa Theologiae – Secunda Secundae, by Saint Thomas Aquinas

Summa Theologiae – Tertia Pars, by Saint Thomas Aquinas

Summa Contra Gentiles, by Saint Thomas Aquinas (Full Text)

Moral Theology: A Complete Course Based on Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Best Modern Authorities

Collect Works of Saint Thomas Aquinas in English

The Roman Catechism, Promulgated by Pope Saint Pius V and Edited by Saint Charles Borromeo

The Faith of Our Fathers, by Very Rev. James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore

The Baltimore Catechism #4, Edited by Rev. Fr. Thomas L. Kinkead

Decem Rationes (Ten Reasons), by Saint Edmund Campion

The Catholic Controversy, by Saint Francis de Sales (Possibly the greatest single work on Apologetics ever written)

Letters and Treatises of Saint Dionysius of Alexandria

Explanation of Catholic Morals, by Rev. Fr. John H. Stapleton

The Orthodox Eastern Church, by the Rev. Father Adrian Fortescue

The Lesser Eastern Churches, by the Rev. Father Adrian Fortescue

Donatism, by the Rev. Father Adrian Fortescue

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Philosophy

Commentary on the Metaphysics of Aristotle, by Saint Thomas Aquinas

Introduction to the Metaphysics of St. Thomas Aquinas, by James F. Anderson

Modern Thomistic Philosophy: An Explanation for Students – Vol. 1, by R.P. Phillips, D.D. M.A.

The Four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence Justice Fortitude Temperance, by Josef Pieper

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Liturgy

The Holy Mass, by Saint Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
The Divine Office, by Saint Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Sermons for Every Sunday of the Year, by Saint Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

The Liturgical Year, by Dom Prosper Gueranger O.S.B.

Explanation of Holy Mass, by Dom Prosper Gueranger O.S.B.

The Mass: a Study of the Roman Liturgy, by the Rev. Father Adrian Fortescue

The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described, by the Rev. Father Adrian Fortescue

How Christ Said the First Mass, by the Rev. Father James L. Meagher D.D.

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass – Dogmatically, Liturgically and Ascetically Explained, by the Rev. Father Nicholas Gihr PhD

Explanation of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Rev. Father Martin von Cochem O.F.M.Cap.

The Holy Mass, the Rev. Father Michael Müller C.Ss.R.

The Divine Office: A Study of the Roman Breviary, by Rev. Father E. J. Quigley

Reasonableness of Catholic Ceremonies and Practices, by Rev. Fr. John J. Burke

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History

Europe and the Faith, by Hilaire Belloc

The Great Heresies, by Hilaire Belloc

Catholic and Anti-Catholic History; by Hiliare Belloc, G. K. Chesterton, and James J. Walsh

The French Revolution, by Hilaire Belloc

The Jews, by Hilaire Belloc

Robespierre: A Study, by Hilaire Belloc

Survivals and New Arrivals, by Hilaire Belloc

Waterloo, by Hiliare Belloc

Come Rack! Come Rope!, by Robert Hugh Benson

Catholic Churchmen in Science, by James J. Walsh

A Short History of England, by G. K. Chesterton

The History of England from the First Invasion by the Romans, by Belloc and Lingard

-The Monks of the West: from St. Benedict to St. Bernard – Vol 1Vol 2Vol 3Vol 4Vol 5Vol 6, by Charles Forbes Montalembert

The Conversion of England: Being a Sequel to the Monks of the West, Charles Forbes Montalembert

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Literature

~G.K. Chesterton~

The Innocence of Father Brown, by G. K. Chesterton (*AudioBook*)

The Wisdom of Father Brown, by G. K. Chesterton

What I Saw in America, by G. K. Chesterton

What’s Wrong with the World, by G. K. Chesterton

Eugenics and Other Evils, by G. K. Chesterton

The Club of Queer Trades, by G. K. Chesterton

Utopia of Usurers and Other Essays, by G. K. Chesterton

Orthodoxy, by G. K. Chesterton

Heretics, by G. K. Chesterton

The Defendant, by G. K. Chesterton

Twelve Types, by G. K. Chesterton

Alarms and Discursions, by G. K. Chesterton

The New Jerusalem, by G. K. Chesterton

The Trees of Pride, by G. K. Chesterton

Poems, by G. K. Chesterton

A Miscellany of Men, by G. K. Chesterton

The Crimes of England, by G. K. Chesterton

The Barbarism of Berlin, by G. K. Chesterton

Wine, Water, and Song, by G. K. Chesterton

The Ballad of St. Barbara, by G. K. Chesterton

Gilbert Keith Chesterton, by Maisie Ward


~Hiliare Belloc~

The Path to Rome, by Hilaire Belloc

On Nothing & Kindred Subjects, by Hilaire Belloc

On Something, by Hilaire Belloc

The Free Press, by Hilaire Belloc

First and Last, by Hilaire Belloc

Avril: Essays on the Poetry of the French Renaissance, by Hilaire Belloc

Poitiers, by Hilaire Belloc

Malplaquet, by Hilaire Belloc

Tourcoing, by Hilaire Belloc

Crécy, by Hilaire Belloc

The Old Road, by Hilaire Belloc

Hills and the Sea, by Hilaire Belloc

The Historic Thames, by Hilaire Belloc

More Peers: Verses, by Hilaire Belloc

 –The Bad Child’s Book of Beasts, by Hilaire Belloc

More Beasts (For Worse Children), by Hilaire Belloc

A Moral Alphabet, by Hilaire Belloc

Hiliare Belloc Online Library

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3 thoughts on “Catholic Online Library

  1. Francis Lezama says:

    a Beautiful, comprehensive Catholic resource site. A powerful site for growth in the knowledge of the true Deposit of the Faith and Morals of the Holy Roman Catholic Faith.

    God Bless

     

    Reply
  2. Anne says:

    This is a priceless gift you have sent us. Pray we heed and profit, for the spirit may be willing but the flesh is very weak.

    Reply

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