Free Traditional Catholic Books



Thanks to technology, and perhaps due to Christianity’s low status in our modern liberal age, there is a  fantastic treasure trove of good, traditional Catholic books available for free or near-free. Below are links to valuable and timeless Catholic texts (including those written by great saints and Fathers and Doctors of the Church) that you can read and download for free. Take advantage of this – they have changed my life and will change yours, too. Tolle et lege!

Catholic life, path to holiness 

The Imitation of Christ (Thomas a Kempis) – pdf, text, audio
Uniformity with God’s Will (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf, text, audio
Humility of Heart (Fr. Gaetano M. da Bergamo) – pdf, text
The Way of Salvation and of Perfection (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf; also here
Preparation for Death (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf
Abandonment to Divine Providence (Jean-Pierre de Caussade) – pdf, text, audio
The Spiritual Combat (Lorenzo Scupoli) – pdf, text, kindle version
The Practice of Perfection and Christian Virtues (Fr. Alphonsus Rodriguez) – Vol I (doc format)  and Vol II (doc format)
Introduction to the Devout Life (St. Francis of Sales) – pdf, text, audio
The Art of Dying Well (St. Robert Bellarmine) – pdf, text, kindle; also pdf here
The Treatise on the Love of God (St. Francis de Sales) – read online
A Treatise on Prayer (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – read online
Little Book of Eternal Wisdom (Bl. Henry Suso) – pdf, text, ibook
Calamities, Chastisement and the Love of God (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf, text, kindle
The Practice of the Presence of God – The Best Rule for Holy Life (Brother Lawrence) – pdf, text, audio
On Loving God (St. Bernard of Clairvaux) – pdf, text, audio
Holiness of Life (St. Bonaventure) - pdf
The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola (St. Ignatius) – pdf, text, audio
The Three Ages of the Interior Life (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange) – read online
Prayer, the Key of Salvation (M. Mueller) – pdf, text, kindle format
The Ways of Mental Prayer (Dom V. Lehodey) – pdf, text, kindle version
An Easy Method of Meditation (Fr. F. X. Schouppe) - pdf

Our Lord, Our Lady 

The Hidden Treasure or the Immense Excellence of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (St. Leonard of Port Maurice) – pdf
True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary (St. Louis de Montfort) – read online; or pdf here
The Mystical City of God (vol 1-4) (Ven. Maria de Jesus de Agreda) – pdf, audio; or here in pdf; or read online here
On the Passion of Jesus Christ (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf, text, kindle format
Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin Mary (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) - read online
The Glories of Mary (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) - pdf, text, kindle format
The Passion and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the Seven Last Words (St. Alphonsus) -pdf
The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich) – text, kindle version; or here in pdf and text versions
Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich) – pdf, text
The Divine Eucharist (St. Peter Julian Eymard) – pdf
Contemplations and Meditations on the Passion and Death… according to the Method of St. Ignatius (W. Eyre) – pdf, text
On the Incarnation of the Word (St. Athanasius) – pdf, text, audio
How Christ Said the First Mass (Fr. J. L. Meagher) - pdf, text, kindle format

Lives of Saints

Isabella of Spain: The Last Crusader (William T. Walsh) – pdf
The Sword of Saint Michael: Saint Pius V (L. Browne-Olf) – pdf
Pope St. Pius X (F.A. Forbes) – pdf, text
Saint Philomena the Wonder-Worker (Fr. Paul O’Sullivan) – pdf, text
Life of the Cure d’Ars, St. J.B.M. Vianney (Alfred Monnin) – pdf, text, kindle format
The Cure of Ars (Kathleen O’Meara)- pdf, text, kindle format
The Life of St. Alphonsus de Liguori – pdf; also here in pdf, text, kindle format
The Life of St. Charles Borromeo (G.P. Giussano) – (Vol I, II)-  pdf, text, kindle format
Saint Charles Borromeo: A Sketch of the Reforming Cardinal (L. Stacpoole-Kenny, St. Pius X) – audio version
Biography of St. Gemma Galgani (Fr. Amedeo) – pdf, text, kindle format
The Diary of St. Gemma Galgani – pdf, text, kindle format
Autobiography of St. Gemma Galgani – pdf, text, kindle format
Saint Vincent Ferrer (Stanislaus Hogan) – pdf, text, kindle
St. Vincent Ferrer, His Life, Spiritual Teaching, and Practical Devotion (Andre Pradel) – pdf
St. Padre Pio and the Miracle of Stigmata – In His Own Words (part 1, part 2, part 3,) – pdf
Life of Pius X (Msg. E. Schmitz) – pdf, text, kindle format
Pio X, un Papa Veneto (part I – pdf, part II – pdf, part III – pdf) … illustrated book about St. Pius X (in Italian language, but even if you don’t read Italian, it’s worth looking at the 100+ historic photographs)
The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus (autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila) – pdf, text, audio
Saint John Capistran (Fr Vincent Fitzgerald) – pdf
The Life of St. Veronica Giuliani (F.M. Salvatori) – read online; or pdf, text here
Life of St. Leonard of Port Maurice (Fr. Dominic Devas) – pdf, text, kindle format
Saint Lydwine of Schiedam (J.-K. Huysmans) – pdf
Saint Louis (Marius Sepet) - pdf
The Autobiography of St. Anthony Mary Claret- pdf
The Holy Man of Tours: Life of Leon Papin-Dupont (P.D. Janvier) – pdf, text, kindle
The Conferences of John Cassian (John Cassian; on lives and thoughts of 2nd-3rd century Fathers of the Desert) – pdf, text, audio
Story of a Soul (autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux) – pdf, text, audio
St. Thomas Aquinas (G.K. Chesterton) – pdf, text
Apologia Pro Vita Sua (Bl. John Henry Newman) – pdf, text, audio
Life of Our Most Holy Father St. Benedict (St. Gregory the Great) – pdf, text
St. Ambrose, His Life and Times (Angelo Paredi) – pdf
Saint Dominic (Jean Guiraud) – pdf, text, kindle version
Life and Doctrine of St. Catherine of Genoa (St. Catherine of Genoa) – pdf, text
Victories of the Martyrs or The Lives of the Most Celebrated Martyrs of the Church (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) - pdf, text, kindle format
Butler’s Lives of the Saints – pdf; or read online here

Writings and sermons of the Saints

The Catholic Controversy (St. Francis de Sales) – pdf, text, kindle format
The Little Number of Those Who Are Saved (St. Leonard of Port Maurice) – pdf
The Confessions of St. Augustine (St. Augustine of Hippo) – text, kindle format; also here in pdf, text, audio 
The City of God (St. Augustine) - text, kindle format; also here in pdf, text, audio
Handbook on Faith, Hope and Love (St. Augustine) – pdf, text, audio
The Interior Castle (St. Teresa of Avila) – pdf, text, audio
The Way of Perfection (St. Teresa of Avila) – pdf, text, audio
The Little Catechism of the Cure of Ars (St. John Vianney) - pdf, text, kindle format
St. Athanasius: Select Works and Letters – pdf
The Holy Rule of St. Benedict (St. Benedict of Nursia) – pdf, text, audio
Ascent of Mount Carmel (St. John of the Cross) – pdf, text
Dark Night of the Soul (St. John of the Cross) – pdf, text, audio
Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation (St. Thomas More) – pdf, text
Ten Reasons (St. Edmund Campion) – pdf
Dialog of Catherine of Siena (St. Catherine of Siena) – pdf, text
Confessions of St. Patrick (St. Patrick) – pdf, text
Sermons for All Sundays in the Year (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf
The True Spouse of Jesus Christ (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf
Sermons of St. Vincent Ferrer – read online
Saint Bernardine of Siena: Sermons – pdf, text, kindle
Sermons of the Cure of Ars – pdf
Sermons of St. Anthony of Padua – pdf
The Prophecies and Revelations of St. Bridget of Sweden – read online

Our Faith

Summa Theologica (St. Thomas Aquinas) – text, kindle format; or read online here 
The History of Heresies and Their Refutation (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf
And You Will Know the Truth: How to Explain and Defend the Catholic Faith (S.R. Fama) – pdf
Which Bible Should You Read (Thomas A. Nelson) – pdf (download starts instantly)
The Hidden Treasure or The Immense Excellence of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (St. Leonard of Port-Maurice) – pdf, text
The Holy Eucharist (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – pdf, text, kindle format
The Priest: His Dignity and Obligations (St. John Eudes) – pdf
Purgatory, Illustrated by the Lives and Legends of the Saints (Fr. Francois Xavier Schouppe) – pdf, text, kindle format
Hell (Fr. F. X. Schouppe) – read online

Problems with the modern(ist) Church

Iota Unum (Romano Amerio) - read online
An Open Letter to Confused Catholics (Abp. Marcel Lefebvre) – read online
Liberalism Is a Sin (Don Felix Sarda y Salvany) – read online
Apologia pro Marcel Lefebvre (Michael Davies) - read online
Can the Pope Go Bad? (Arnaldo V.X. da Silveira) – pdf
Liturgical Shipwreck (Michael Davies) – read online

Miracles and prodigies

Eucharistic Miracles Around the World (with photos) – pdf
Miracles of the Church (collection, with photos) – pdf
The Wonderful Crucifix of Limpias (E. von Kleist) – pdf, text (if you are not in the US the above may not be available as a download, in which case you can get the book from the link below; note that it takes a while to open/download)
The Wonderful Crucifix of Limpias, Remarkable Manifestations (Rev. Baron von Kleist) – pdf
Our Lady of Good Success – read online
On Miracles, volume I and volume II (Bp. George Hay) – pdf

Miscellaneous 

The Last Crusade: Spain 1936 (Warren H. Carroll) – read online
The Golden Legend (vol 1-7) (Bl. Jacobus de Voragine) – pdf, text
Celestial Hierarchy (Dionysius) – pdf, text
Origen on Prayer – pdf, text
Everlasting Man (G.K. Chesterton) – pdf, text
Orthodoxy (G.K. Chesterton) – pdf, text, audio
Heretics (G.K. Chesterton) – pdf, text, audio
What’s Wrong with the World (G.K. Chesterton) – pdf, text
The Catholic Girl’s Guide (Fr. F.X. Lasance) – pdf

Countless other classics on Church history, doctrine, lives and thoughts of saints and Church Fathers (including all the volumes of “Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers” and “Ante-Nicene Fathers”) can be downloaded at ccel.org. (The site unfortunately carries many Protestant books as well, so do your research to make sure any book you intend to read is Catholic and doctrinally sound.)
Other websites I recommend for free Catholic books: freecatholicebooks.com, catholic-books.blogspot.com, basilica.org/pages/ebooks.php, liberius.net/langues.php (books in a dozen different languages).
For a vast quantity of texts, mostly in Latin, see DocumentaCatholicaOmnia.eu.
If you know the name of the book, author or topic, archive.org/details/texts is also helpful.

Short articles and texts

The Way of the Cross (St. Alphonsus de Liguori) – read online
The Little Number of Those Who Are Saved (St. Leonard of Port Maurice) – pdf
Maxims for Obtaining Perfection in the Love of Jesus Christ (St. Alphonsus) – read online
Letter to the Friends of the Cross (St. Louis Marie de Montfort) – pdf
On Cleaving to God (St. Albert the Great) - pdf
Treasures of the Mass – pdf
This is the Mass (Abp. Fulton Sheen) – read online
These are the Sacraments (Abp. Fulton Sheen) – pdf
Calvary and the Mass (Abp. Fulton Sheen) – read online
Liturgical Shipwreck (Michael Davies) – read online
A Short History of the Roman Mass (Michael Davies) - read online
The Attractiveness of the Tridentine Mass (Cardinal Stickler) - pdf
Liberalism Is a Sin (Don Felix Sarda y Salvany) – read online
Read Me or Rue It (Fr. Paul O’Sullivan) – pdf

Catholic Bible, Catechism, Doctrine 

Douay-Rheims Roman Catholic Bible - read online; or download pdf here
Biblia Sacra Vulgata (Latin Clementine Vulgate Bible) – read online; or pdf here
The Catechism of the Council of Trent (Catechism of St. Pius V) – pdf
Catechism of St. Pius X – read online; or download text [rtf] here
The Douay Catechism (1649) – pdf
The Baltimore Catechism (1891) – pdf
Summa Theologica (St. Thomas Aquinas) – text, kindle format; or read online here 
Catechism of the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas – pdf
The Catechetical Instructions of St. Thomas Aquinas – pdf
Sources of Catholic Dogma (Fr. H.J.D. Denzinger) – read online
The Raccolta or Collection of Indulgenced Prayers and Good Works (1910) - pdf
The Roman Martyrology (1916) – pdf
The Liturgical Year (Dom Prosper Gueranger) – read online; or pdfs here
Introduction to the Study of Holy Scripture (A. E. Breen) – pdf, text, kindle version

Papal Encyclicals and related texts

Papal Encyclicals Online (www.papalencyclicals.net) features encyclicals of 43 Popes (from 13th century to present) in html text as well as kindle format. The Vatican website also lists encyclicals and other papal documents.

Some of the noteworthy encyclicals –
Bl. Piux IX – The Syllabus of Errors (1864)
Bl. Pius IX – Quanta Cura (1864, Condemning Current Errors)
Bl. Pius IX – Qui Pluribus (1846, On Faith and Religion)
St. Pius X – Pascendi Dominici Gregis (1907, On the Doctrine of the Modernists)
St. Pius X – Lamentabili Sane (1907, Condemning Errors of Modernism)
St. Pius X – Vehementer Nos (1906, Condemning Separation of Church and State)
St. Pius V – Quo Primum (1570, Promulgating the Tridentine Liturgy)
Pius XI – Quas Primas (1925, on the Kingship of Christ)
Gregory XVI – Mirari Vos (1832, On Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism)
Gregory XVI – Commissum Divinitus (1835, on Church and State)
Leo XIII – Quod Apostolici Muneris (1878, On Socialism)
Leo XIII – Arcanum (1880, On Christian Marriage)
Leo XIII – Diuturnum (1881, On the Origin of Civil Power)
Leo XIII – Inscrutabili dei Consilio (1878, On the Evils of Society)
Leo XIII – Libertas Praestantissimum (1888, On the Nature of Human Liberty)
Leo XIII – Sapientiae Christianae (1890, On Christians as Citizens)
Leo XIII – Tametsi Futura Prospicientibus (1900, On Jesus Christ the Redeemer)
Leo XIII – Humanum Genus, Custodi di Quella Fede and Inimica Vis (1884, 1892, On Freemasonry)
Benedict XVI – Summorum Pontificum (2007, Motu Propio on Tridentine Mass)

Catechism on Modernism according to the encyclical ‘Pascendi Dominici Gregis’ of His Holiness Pius X (J.B. Lemius) – pdf, text, kindle format

Traditional Liturgy

Ordo Missae of the Missale Romanum 1962 (latin/english) – includes mp3 audio
Ordo Missae – Ordinary of the Mass (latin/english; 1921)  – read online
Divine Office; Little Office of BVM (latin/english) - read online
Sancta Missa (Sacred Liturgy, Music… – tutorials, guides, texts, audios) 
Explanation of the Prayers and Ceremonies of Holy Mass (Dom P. Gueranger) – pdf
The Church’s Year: Explanation of the Epistles and Gospels (Fr. L. Goffine) – read online
The Liturgical Year (Dom Prosper Gueranger) – read online; or pdfs here

Understanding Latin

An Introduction to Ecclesiastical Latin (Rev. H.P.V. Nunn) -pdf