There are mainly three different versions of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and each has its own color-coded cover to help tell them apart.
Although anyone can access the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Vatican website, some still prefer the old-fashioned method of opening a physical book. However, this can sometimes be confusing, as there are three different versions of the Catechism in circulation.
This is especially the case if you find yourself in a Catholic thrift store and see the older versions on display.
Which version of Catechism should you buy?
beige blanket
The French version of Catechism was first published in 1992, with an English translation following in 1994.
This version of Catechism (with a beige cover) had a note that a future edition would supersede this one, when the Latin version (the “official” version) was published.
Thus, this first edition of Catechism is considered more of an unofficial English translation, although most of the content is the same, with some minor updates that have been made in the next edition.
Green blanket
Latin typical edition was published in 1997, with the official English translation.
This edition was the official reference text, and included some updates and corrections compared to the French edition.
To identify this edition, it has been given a green cover.
blue blanket
In 2018, Pope Francis ordered a revision of the paragraph that dealt with the death sentence.
This resulted in a new edition of the Catechismpublished in 2018 with a blue cover.
The blue blanket Catechism is now the most current and up-to-date resource for all Catholic Church creeds.
There are other summaries of Catechismas the Your cat and the Compendiumbut all other catechisms refer to the original and typical edition.
