The Best Catholic Authors

Over 1.0K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best Catholic Authors
Voting Rules
Catholic writers and authors. Vote up the best Catholic writers.
Some of history’s most influential and recognizable literary works were written by famous Catholic authors. Who hasn’t heard classics like Ulysses or A Clockwork Orange? Who are the best Catholic authors? Some are writers who serve the church itself as a pope or bishop, while others are lay people of the Catholic faith who happen to be famous authors.
 
The authors on this list have written some of the most well-known novels of all time. These are stories that have challenged us, made us cry, inspired us to change, shown us the power of forgiveness, and motivated us to change the way we think about life. Some writers on this list have penned classic novels and works of literature, while others write specifically about theology and religion.
 
This list features the best Catholic authors of all time, many of whom have written classic literary works including, Alexander Pope, James Joyce, Anne Rice, Anthony Burgess, Brian Coffey, Flannery O’Connor, Thomas Merton, and Fulton J. Sheen. Vote up the best Catholic writers and see where the authors you think are great rank.
Latest additions: Sigrid Undset, Alessandro Manzoni
Ranked by
  • Augustine of Hippo
    1
    245 votes
    Confessions of St. Augustine, City of God, On Christian Doctrine
  • Thomas Aquinas
    2
    324 votes
    Providence and Predestination, The Literal Exposition on Job
  • J. R. R. Tolkien
    3
    331 votes
    The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion
  • G. K. Chesterton
    4
    260 votes
    The Man Who Was Thursday, The Napoleon of Notting Hill, The Everlasting Man
  • Dante Alighieri
    5
    195 votes
    Divine Comedy, Inferno, Convivio
  • John Henry Newman
    6
    135 votes
    Apologia Pro Vita Sua, The Grammar of Assent, The Dream of Gerontius