# Vatican.va vs The Catholic News Reader

The clearest difference is rating: The Catholic News Reader at 5.0 against Vatican.va's 4.1. The Catholic News Reader also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 58%) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 6 weeks). Vatican.va's advantage is ratings volume (37 vs 6) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

The Catholic News Reader holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Vatican.va has 37 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Vatican.va's written reviews are positive against 100% of The Catholic News Reader's.

Vatican.va ships an update every 6 weeks, The Catholic News Reader every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Vatican.va | The Catholic News Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.1 (37 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vaticanva/id612918266/reviews) | **[5.0 (6 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-catholic-news-reader/id6502889348/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **37** | 6 |
| Positive reviews | 58.4% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 46 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | +12 |
| Developer | [Segreteria per la Comunicazione](https://appshunter.io/developer/612918489) | [Lucin Digital Services LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/959802295) |

## What reviewers say

### Vatican.va

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vaticanva/id612918266)

Access the official teachings and institutional information from the Holy See. This app provides direct access to the Papal Magisterium and official news from the Apostolic See.

**Highlights:** Papal Magisterium access, Institutional information, Official Apostolic See news, Direct website content

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### The Catholic News Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-catholic-news-reader/id6502889348)

This app aggregates Catholic news, commentary, and spiritual content from curated sources worldwide. It offers a user-friendly interface with customizable text sizes, light/dark modes, and offline reading capabilities. Stay informed about the Catholic world with daily devotionals and Gospel reflections.

**Highlights:** Aggregates Catholic content from curated sources, Categorized articles with simple UI, Daily devotionals and Mass readings, Customizable text size and UI modes, Offline reading and content caching, Article sharing functionality

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Vatican.va free?

Vatican.va is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is The Catholic News Reader free?

The Catholic News Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Vatican.va or The Catholic News Reader?

The Catholic News Reader is rated higher. Vatican.va averages 4.1 out of 5 from 37 ratings, while The Catholic News Reader averages 5.0 from 6 ratings.

### Do Vatican.va or The Catholic News Reader have ads?

Neither Vatican.va nor The Catholic News Reader shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Vatican.va or The Catholic News Reader?

Vatican.va ships an update every 6 weeks, and The Catholic News Reader every 10 days. Most recently, Vatican.va was updated on November 7, 2026 and The Catholic News Reader on October 30, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*