The Greatest Books of All Time on Catholicism

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
133 Confessions Augustine 397 Roman Latin
187 The Power and the Glory Graham Greene 1940 British English
219 Brighton Rock Graham Greene 1938 British English
273 The Betrothed Alessandro Manzoni 1827 Italian Italian
299 Kristin Lavransdatter Sigrid Undset 1920 Norwegian Norwegian
385 Quo Vadis Henryk Sienkiewicz 1895 Polish Polish
391 Death Comes for the Archbishop Willa Cather 1927 American English
653 Summa Theologica Thomas Aquinas 1274 Italian Latin
740 Silence Shūsaku Endō 1966 Japanese Japanese
742 The Crime of Father Amaro Eça de Queirós 1875 Portuguese Portuguese
957 The Little World Of Don Camillo Giovanni Guareschi 1948 Italian Italian
962 The Diary of a Country Priest Georges Bernanos 1936 French French
1019 The Interior Castle Teresa of Avila 1588 Spanish Spanish
1068 The Seven Storey Mountain Thomas Merton 1948 American English
1116 Hadrian the Seventh Frederick Rolfe 1904 British English
1459 The City of God Augustine 413 Roman Latin
1960 The Provincial Letters Blaise Pascal 1656 French French
2271 The Nun Denis Diderot 1796 French French
2320 The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross St. John of the Cross 1578 Spanish Spanish
2527 The Everlasting Man G. K. Chesterton 1925 British English
2569 Apologia Pro Vita Sua John Henry Newman 1864 British English
2740 Dark Night of the Soul St. John of the Cross 1578 Spanish Spanish
3152 The Complete Poems Of San Juan De La Cruz San Juan de la Cruz 1618 Spanish Spanish
3178 Priestdaddy Patricia Lockwood 2017 American English
3200 Story Of A Soul Thérèse of Lisieux 1898 French French
3219 The Long Loneliness Dorothy Day 1952 American English
3561 Insight Bernard Lonergan 1957 Canadian English
3638 The Veil Of Veronica Gertrud von le Fort 1928 German German
4688 The Lord Romano Guardini 1934 German German
4688 Enthusiasm Ronald Knox 1950 British English
5304 The Love Of Learning And The Desire For God Jean Leclercq 1960 French French
5347 New Seeds Of Contemplation Thomas Merton 1961 American English
5362 Foundations Of Christian Faith Karl Rahner 1976 German German
5502 Does God Exist? Hans Küng 1978 German German
5516 Journal Of A Soul Pope John XXIII 1964 Italian Italian
6371 The Journal Of Raïssa Maritain Raïssa Maritain 1974 French French
6860 Meditations On The Tarot Unknown 1980 Unknown French
7030 The Glory Of The Lord Hans Urs Von Balthasar 1982 Swiss German
8585 Sermões Padre Vieira 1642 Brazilian Portuguese
8681 In Defense Of Sanity G. K. Chesterton 2011 British English
9044 A Simple Path Mother Teresa 1995 Unknown English
9184 A Theology Of Liberation Gustavo Gutierrez 1971 Peruvian Spanish
9708 The Etymologies Isidore of Seville 630 Spanish Latin
9927 The Problem Of Atheism Augusto Del Noce 1964 Italian Italian
10417 Taking On The Heart Of Christ John Henry Newman British Unknown
11455 The Edge of Sadness Edwin O'Connor 1961 American English
11546 Hildegard Of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen 1152 German Latin
11663 Evelyn Waugh Martin Stannard 1986 Unknown English
12212 Jesus Of Nazareth Pope Benedict XVI 2007 German German
12306 The Last Supper Paul Elie 2025 American English
13543 Morte D'Urban J. F. Powers 1962 American English
14120 They Flew Carlos Eire 2023 Unknown English
14360 How Far Can You Go? David Lodge 1980 British English
15914 Callista John Henry Newman 1855 British English
16764 Manalive G. K. Chesterton 1912 British English
17162 Lamy of Santa Fe Paul Horgan 1975 American English
17162 Padre Pio Sergio Luzzatto 2007 Italian Italian
17162 The Holiness Of Ordinary People Madeleine Delbrêl 2024 Unknown English
17162 Conclave Robert Harris 2016 British English
17120 In This House Of Brede Rumer Godden 1969 British English
17162 Summa Contra Gentiles Thomas Aquinas 1992 Italian Latin
17162 The Ninth Hour Alice McDermott 2017 American English
17162 The Cardinal Sins Andrew M. Greeley 1981 American English
17162 The Bishop's Man Linden MacIntyre 2009 Canadian English
17162 Lancelot Walker Percy 1977 American English
17162 Strangers And Sojourners Michael O'Brien 1997 Canadian English
17162 Saint Thomas Aquinas And Saint Francis Of Assisi G.K. Chesterton English English