When Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost became Pope in May 2025, he chose the name Leo XIV, echoing Pope Leo XIII, whose 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum laid the foundation of Catholic Social Teaching.

First published during the upheaval of the Industrial Revolution, Rerum Novarum addressed the struggles of workers, the threats to family life, and the dangers of both unregulated capitalism and socialist ideologies. It champions the dignity of the human person, just wages, private property, and religious freedom.

Reprinted and recorded as an audiobook in 2025 to mark the election of Pope Leo XIV, this landmark Church document speaks powerfully to today’s world of rapid economic and technological change.

Listen now and rediscover the Church’s enduring vision for justice, work, and human dignity.

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Throughout history Christians have suffered martyrdom and torture as a result of ‘hatred of the faith’ (odium fidei). Archbishop Oscar Romero, gunned down while saying Mass, was declared to be such a martyr by Pope Francis, thus opening the way for his beatification and subsequent canonisation. Romero paid the ultimate price for his faithfulness to Christ and his Church, rather than is often misrepresented, for his political activism. Romero’s impressive body of teaching, personal holiness and sufferings illustrate what an impressive witness to the faith he truly was. Listen to this audiobook for free. Read by Luis Soto and ⁠⁠⁠based on the Catholic Truth Society booklet by Fr Ashley Beck⁠⁠.

A young man who spent his short life caring for the sick and infirm. A handsome and active young man from an influential family in Turin who dedicated his short life to the care of the poor and the sick and working for social and political reforms. Pier Giorgio Frassati's generosity was legendary. He often gave the clothes he was wearing to poor people he met who were in need. An open anti-fascist, a keen sportsman and mountaineer, an enthusiast of the theatre and literature, and a young man with a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, he stands as a great example of Christianity in action. His life was cut short by polio at the age of 24 and thousands of the Italian industrial city's poor lined the streets at his funeral. He was beatified in 1990 by Pope St John Paul II.

Listen to this audiobook for free. Read by Luis Soto and ⁠⁠based on the Catholic Truth Society booklet by Glynn MacNiven-Johnston⁠.