iPieta vs Catena
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iPieta
Access a comprehensive collection of Catholic resources, including Bibles, catechisms, prayers, and spiritual works. Explore liturgical calendars, papal documents, and writings from Church Fathers. Features include search, history, bookmarks, and downloadable audio for select content.
- Catholic Bibles (Douay-Rheims, Clementine Vulgate)
- Multiple Catechisms (Baltimore, Roman, St. Thomas Aquinas)
- Ordinary & Extraordinary Liturgical Calendars
- Extensive Devotions and Prayers
- Spiritual Works from Church Fathers
- Papal Encyclicals and Conciliar Documents
- Search, History, Bookmarks, Highlights
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iPieta contains Catholic documents, teachings, writings, prayers, and liturgical calendars, including: • Bibles: Douay-Rheims, Clementine Vulgate (Catholic and public domain; note that Psalms are COMPLETE but numbered as in the Vulgate). • Baltimore Catechisms #1-3 (original); the Cat. of Christian Doctrine, the Roman Catechism, and the Cat. of St. Thomas Aquinas. • Both the Ordinary (Novus Ordo) and Extraordinary (Tridentine) Calendars with access to the day's Gospel and Reading(s) from the Douay-Rheims & Vulgate. • Numerous devotions and prayers, including 33-Day Total Consecration Preparation, Novena to the Holy Spirit, St. Alphonsus Stations of the Cross, and the St. Bridget 1-Year and 12-Year Prayers. • Spiritual works from authors including St. Louis Marie de Montfort, St. Teresa of Jesus, St. John of the Cross, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Thomas Aquinas (Summa and Catena), St. Francis deSales, and St. Jean-Marie Vianney. • Papal Encyclicals and Conciliar Documents • Fathers of the Church (Erdman's collection) • Search, History, Bookmarks, Highlights. • Multi-version display of some data like versions of the Bible and prayers in different languages. • Free downloadable audio for many prayers, New Testament, and some works.
Catena
Access scripture with verse-by-verse commentary from early Christian theologians. Gain insights into the roots of authentic faith and apply God's word to your spiritual life. This resource offers authoritative guidance for interpreting scripture and understanding the early church.
- Verse-by-verse commentary
- Insights from church fathers
- Early Christian theologian perspectives
- Scripture interpretation guidance
- Spiritual life application
- Understanding the early church
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The Bible has been changing lives for thousands of years. Moses wrote of a God who hears the cry of His people. David sang to Him from the cave and the palace. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote down what they saw and heard of Jesus. Paul wrote from prison to churches he loved. Their words have carried people through grief, doubt, exile, and joy for a hundred generations, and they are still doing it today. Catena helps you read the Bible with the understanding of 2,000 years of the most influential Christians. We collect the writings of faithful Christians, men and women who read these same pages within a few generations of the apostles. Athanasius, who was exiled five times for holding to the divinity of Christ. Antony, who heard one verse read in church and walked into the desert. Basil, who built the first hospital. Gregory, John Chrysostom, Augustine, Cyril, Ephrem, and more than 100 others. They were bishops, monks, teachers, and martyrs. They were critical to nurturing the faith of their communities, and suffered for the faith we still hold. Catena puts their words beside every verse. Catena also brings the largest library of verse-tagged video and podcast Bible studies and sermons, so you can hear the same passage preached by priests and teachers today. All of it for one purpose: to help you see the love, joy, mercy, and forgiveness of God that is woven through Scripture from the first page to the last. EVERY VERSE, EXPLAINED Tap any verse and read what the Church Fathers said about it. Over 200,000 passages of commentary from more than 100 Fathers of the East and the West, arranged verse by verse so you never have to go looking. A LIBRARY OF COMPLETE WORKS Read the Fathers in full, not only in excerpts. - Athanasius's On the Incarnation - Augustine's Confessions and City of God - Life of Antony - Chrysostom's homilies on Matthew and John - Cyril of Alexandria on Luke and John - Basil, Gregory, Origen, Ambrose, Ephrem, the Apostolic Fathers, and many more. Over 1,500 complete texts, and every Scripture reference inside them opens the verse. BIBLE STUDIES AND SERMONS, TAGGED BY VERSE Access thousands of videos and podcasts, every one transcribed and tagged to the verses it teaches on. Open a verse and jump to the moment it was preached. Read the transcript beside the video, and keep watching in picture-in-picture while you read. THE BIBLE IN YOUR LANGUAGE Over 220 translations in 71 languages, including the Van Dyck Arabic and the Bohairic Coptic New Testament. Go deeper with the Hebrew and Greek interlinear, parallel passages, related verses, footnotes, and cross-references. THE DAILY READINGS The Coptic, Ethiopian, Catholic, and Greek lectionaries, with the Synaxarium, the feasts, and the fasting seasons. Open the app and today's readings are waiting. FIND IT IN SECONDS One search across Scripture, commentary, the Fathers, their books, and talks. MAKE IT YOURS Highlight in the colors you choose, take notes, and gather verses and commentary into collections. Sign in and everything stays in sync across your devices. Save books for reading offline. READ YOUR WAY Choose your font, size, and spacing. Read on beige paper, in the light, or in dark mode. A Quote of the Day from the Fathers and the early monks of the desert, with a home screen widget. We pray that Catena may be an edifying resource in your relationship with God, to whom is due all glory, honor, and dominion. Now and forever, and unto the ages of all ages, Amen.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Catena at 5.1K against iPieta's 516. Catena also leads on review sentiment (98% vs 88%). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Catena holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Catena has 5.1K ratings behind it against 516, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of iPieta's written reviews are positive against 98% of Catena's.
iPieta ships an update fortnightly, Catena monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iPieta | Catena |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (516 ratings) | 4.9 (5.1K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 88.2% of reviews | 97.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 516 | 5.1K — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 78 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | iVerbum | AD30 Inc. |
Customer experience
iPieta
Catena
User reviews
iPieta
From 516 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🙏 Best Catholic Prayer and Devotion App
- 📚 Wonderful resource for prayers, readings, and spiritual content
- 🕰️ Comprehensive coverage of traditional and modern Catholic practices
- 🔍 Extensive library of prayers, Bible translations, and Church documents
- 🌟 Invaluable tool for prayer life and spiritual growth
Room to improve
- 🤔 Difficult to navigate and find desired content
- 🆕 Recent updates have made the app less user-friendly
- 🔇 Audio playback issues and missing features
- 🔄 Inconsistent user experience across updates
- 📱 Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
Catena
From 5.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🙏 Thank you for your hard work
- 👍 Helpful commentaries and insights
- 🔍 Great for Bible study and learning
- 🕰️ Useful daily quotes from Church Fathers
- 🧭 Easy to navigate and use
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
- 🔍 Missing some commentaries or translations
- 🔌 Offline functionality could be improved
Bugs and requests
iPieta
Reported bugs
4 issues- Blank screen issues after recent updates
- Disappearing bookmarks and notes
- Stability problems and frequent crashes
- Incorrect calendar and liturgical information
Requested features
5 requests- More Bible translations and liturgical versions
- Improved search and browsing functionality
- Better organization and categorization of content
- Customizable audio playback controls
- Offline access and download options
Catena
Reported bugs
3 issues- Verse navigation sometimes gets stuck
- Difficulty accessing certain Bible versions
- Occasional freezing or white screen issues
Requested features
4 requests- Add more Bible translations
- Improve sharing and note-taking features
- Include Orthodox lectionary and liturgical calendar
- Provide source links for commentaries
In-app purchases
iPieta
No in-app purchases
Catena
No in-app purchases









