The Catholic iPhone

Ok, so the iPhone has been around for a while, and as a bit of a geek when it comes to mobile phones, I've never really been interested. Nice UI and all that, but as a communication device, it's pretty average. A week or so ago, I got a new phone, the HTC Hero. Swish user interface, open source operating system, and a stack of apps available at the Android Market, all round a great phone for geeks. Talking to a friend who has an iPhone, the discussion got onto why I'd never owned that device. We talked apps, and stuff, and from curiosity I took a look at the App Store on iTunes to see what was around. And, I was mightily impressed with what I found.

There are so many Catholic apps available! After a day, I'd sold the HTC Hero and purchased an iPhone. A decision based purely on the apps available. So, on my phone now, I have the Holy Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and writings from St Augustine, The City of God, Confessions and Christian Doctrine. Then there are apps that just overflow with Catholic goodness, iPieta, Universalis, etc. With iPieta I have a searchable database of saints, the Baltimore Catechism, spiritual texts such as Intro to Devout Life, Imitation of Christ, and more, then there is writings from St John Vianney, St John of the Cross, there is the Roman Catechism, the Catechism of St Thomas Aquinas and the Summa Theologica. Universalis is another fantastic app, with the daily Mass readings, info on the Saint of the day, plus the prayers for the Divine Office! All of this info could easily fill multiple heavyweight books, and it is all in the palm of my hand! I can access any of this wherever I am, on the train to work, queuing at the store, literally anywhere. All I want now is the Catholic Encyclopaedia made compatible with the iPhone, now *that* is an app I would happily pay for!

So, the next time you see someone sitting in Church with phone in hand, don't automatically assume they are texting, or chatting on Facebook; they may just as easily be reading the Liturgy of the Hours, or from the Holy Bible.

I found this clip on YouTube, enjoy: