Liturgical: Catholic Calendar

Liturgical is a calendar app that keeps the Church's year right at your fingertips. It tells you what feast or memorial it is, what color the priest is wearing today, and what the Mass readings are — all in a clean, no-clutter interface.

The Mass Readings tab lets you read the daily and Sunday readings on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. There are widgets you can put on your lock screen or alongside your app icons, so the day's celebration is one glance away. Siri will tell you what's going on liturgically today. Push notifications announce solemnities and feast days so you don't miss them. It also runs on Apple Watch.

I like how restrained it is. There is no homily, no commentary, no engagement layer trying to keep you in the app. It shows you the liturgical day, the readings, and the saints, and lets you take it from there. That is the right shape for an app like this.

This works well for daily Mass-goers, people who pray with the readings in the morning, RCIA candidates trying to learn the Church year, and parents who want their kids to know that today is the memorial of a particular saint. The lock-screen widget makes it especially useful if you just want a passing reminder during the day.

It is not a missal substitute, and it does not include the Liturgy of the Hours. For the full breviary you would still need something like iBreviary or Universalis. The interface is iPhone-first; if you mostly read on a tablet you may want a different app.

Free, by Joseph Kokenge out of Lafayette, Louisiana. Available on the App Store: Liturgical: Catholic Calendar. A small, well-made app from an independent developer, and worth keeping on your phone.