Our Picks at a Glance
- Best overall: The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
- Best for learning the faith: The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
- Best for prayer: The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames)
- Best for apologetics: Catholic Answers Live
- Best long-form conversations: Pints With Aquinas
- Best for women: Abiding Together
- Best for young men and young adults: The Catholic Talk Show
- Best for faith and culture: The Word on Fire Show
- Best for the Sunday Gospel: Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermons
- Best light listen: Catholic Stuff You Should Know
- Best for praying the Hours: Divine Office
Catholic Podcasts Compared
Hosts and schedules from each show's Apple Podcasts page, November 2026. All are free.
| Podcast | Host or publisher | Schedule | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Bible in a Year | Fr. Mike Schmitz, Ascension | Daily, 20 to 25 minutes | Reading the whole Bible |
| The Catechism in a Year | Fr. Mike Schmitz, Ascension | Daily, 15 to 20 minutes | Learning what the Church teaches |
| The Rosary in a Year | Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR, Ascension | Daily | Learning to pray the Rosary |
| Catholic Answers Live | Catholic Answers | Daily call-in show | Apologetics and hard questions |
| Pints With Aquinas | Matt Fradd | Weekly, long-form | Discussions and debates |
| Abiding Together | Sr. Miriam James Heidland, Heather Khym, Michelle Benzinger | Weekly | Women's spiritual life |
| The Catholic Talk Show | Ryan Scheel, Ryan DellaCrosse, Fr. Michael Nixon | Weekly | Faith and culture, young adults |
| The Word on Fire Show | Word on Fire, with Bishop Robert Barron | Weekly | Faith and culture |
| Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermons | Bishop Robert Barron | Weekly | The Sunday readings |
| Catholic Stuff You Should Know | J. 10 Initiative | Every two weeks | Light, curious Catholic topics |
| Divine Office | DivineOffice.org | Daily | Praying the Liturgy of the Hours |
Best for Scripture and the Catechism
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
The Bible in a Year walks through the whole Bible in 365 episodes of 20 to 25 minutes, each with two or three readings, a reflection from Fr. Mike Schmitz and a guided prayer. It follows a reading order inspired by Jeff Cavins's Great Adventure Bible Timeline, so the Bible reads as one story. Ascension notes that the Bible contains adult themes, so preview before playing it for young children. Our Catholic Bible in a Year reading plan guide shows how to start and finish.
The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
The Catechism in a Year covers the entire Catechism of the Catholic Church in 365 episodes of 15 to 20 minutes, each with a prayer, a Catechism reading and Fr. Mike's explanation. If you have ever been unsure what the Church teaches and why, this is the most direct fix there is.
Best for Prayer
The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames)
Ascension's "in a Year" show on the Rosary, hosted by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, builds the Rosary up step by step: the habit of daily prayer, the biblical roots of the Rosary, and meditation with Scripture, sacred art and the saints. Ready to pray along with a recording today? Our audio Rosary guide lists free recordings for each day's mysteries.
Divine Office
The Divine Office podcast is the Liturgy of the Hours itself, prayed aloud each day with psalms, readings and hymns. Pray along with it.
Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermons
A weekly homily on the Sunday readings. Listen on Friday or Saturday and you will hear Sunday's Gospel at Mass already prepared.
Best for Apologetics and Hard Questions
Catholic Answers Live
Catholic Answers Live is a daily call-in radio show of Catholic apologetics and evangelization, airing live from 6 to 8pm Eastern. Callers ask the questions you hear at work and at family dinners: about Mary, the saints, the Bible, suffering, other religions. The podcast feed lets you listen any time.
Pints With Aquinas
Matt Fradd's Pints With Aquinas hosts long-form discussions, debates and teaching on the Catholic faith, often two hours or more. It is released weekly and distributed on Apple Podcasts through The Daily Wire. Apple lists the show as explicit, so check an episode before playing it around children.
Best Catholic Podcast for Women: Abiding Together
Abiding Together is a weekly podcast hosted by Sr. Miriam James Heidland, Heather Khym and Michelle Benzinger, describing itself as a place of connection, rest and encouragement for women living out their purpose in Jesus Christ. Episodes usually include a Scripture passage for Lectio Divina, a quote to ponder, and journal and discussion questions, which makes it easy to use with a women's group.
Best for Men and Young Adults
The Catholic Talk Show
The Catholic Talk Show, with Ryan Scheel, Ryan DellaCrosse and Fr. Michael Nixon, offers weekly conversations on faith, culture and Catholicism, informative and often funny. Apple lists it as explicit.
Pints With Aquinas
Pints With Aquinas, above, suits listeners who want debate and long interviews on philosophy, apologetics and the moral life.
For young Catholics, one formation show plus one conversation show is a good pair: The Catechism in a Year on weekdays and one of these at the weekend.
From listening about God to praying with him
Podcasts teach you about the faith. Pro is built for the praying part: a daily audio devotional with calming music for the same commute, audio-guided prayers for anxiety, healing and protection that you pray along with, in-depth Bible studies when an episode leaves you with questions, worship playlists, and offline access for the subway or the plane. $49 once, yours for life. Why so cheap? It is all digital, made once and shared with every member, with no office or agency to pay for. We are rooting for you.
Get Pro for $49 once One-time payment. No subscription. 30-day money-back guarantee.Best for Faith and Culture
The Word on Fire Show
The Word on Fire Show is the weekly faith-and-culture podcast of Bishop Robert Barron's Word on Fire ministry, taking on books, ideas and public debates from a Catholic point of view. Recent episodes are hosted by Matthew Petrusek of the Word on Fire Institute with Bishop Barron as guest.
Catholic Stuff You Should Know
A lighthearted show from the J. 10 Initiative, running since 2010, exploring prominent and obscure Catholic topics: saints, customs, history and odd corners of Church life. A good first podcast for a friend who is curious about the Church.
How to Listen So It Changes You
A podcast can fill your head without changing your heart. These habits turn listening into growth.
- One daily, one weekly. Two shows you finish beat ten you sample.
- Same time every day. The commute is ideal. Leave the next episode downloaded.
- Pray the last minute. When the episode ends, turn it off and speak to God for one minute about what you heard.
- Act on one thing. Each week, change one thing because of what you learned.
- Let it lead you to the sacraments. The best Catholic podcasts all say the same thing: go to Mass, go to confession, pray daily.
"Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ."
Romans 10:17Looking for apps to pray with rather than shows to listen to? See our guide to the best Catholic prayer apps.