iFaith: iPieta -The ULTIMATE Catholic iPhone app

iPieta: the ULTIMATE Catholic iPhone app
Wednesday, 03 March 2010

Now, I may have said this somewhere else, but in all honesty, this really takes the cake …
A good friend of mine put me on to this one, and for this I am truly thankful. iPieta has pretty much EVERYTHING one could possibly want in a Catholic iPhone application. In such a short space as is afforded for this review it is impossible to include in everything that this App contains, but here I will provide you with what I consider to be the real highlights.
iPieta is divided into four main sections:
1) The Bible, in both an English translation (Douay Rhiems) and Latin Vulgate
2) Liturgical Calendar (both the Ordinary, Norvus Ordo and the Extraordinary, Tridentine) including readings and solemnities, feasts, memorials etc.
3) The Prayer Book is exhaustive with literally hundreds of prayers easily navigated through via the indexed tables. (many of the prayers are available in audio too)
4) The library, titled Veritas is the real gem in my view. It is here that one can find a veritable smorgasbord of solid Catholic teaching; from the documents of pretty well ALL the ecumenical councils of the Church, through to Bible commentaries, the writings of Saints and Doctors of the Church (including the major works of St Theresa of Avila, St John of the Cross, and the entirety of St Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica,), Papal documents (going back to Pope Pius VI), catechisms, biographies of Saints and whole lot more. The really fantastic thing about all this is that pretty well all of the documents are fully searchable via the indexed tables (which makes it extremely user friendly).
Realistically, I don’t know how much reading of these substantially meaty spiritual/literary works I will actually be doing on my iPhone, (perhaps I’m old fashioned, but I really like the whole experience of a book, the touch, smell etc) but the convenience of having such incredible writings there for such easy reference is a great way familiarise yourself with their content, and a wonderful way to clear up your own, or others misunderstandings of core elements of our faith. For an incredibly low price of $3.99 (which when you think about it is less than a small meal at MacDonald’s) I think there’s not much more anyone could really want in a Catholic iPhone Application. Without a doubt the BEST Catholic iPhone App out there.