The present disclosure is drawn to an endolysin protein against Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn), designated SP-CHAP. The disclosure provides methods of treating diseases in a subject resulting from infection with pneumococcal bacteria, said diseases including but not limited to pneumonia, invasive pneumococcal disease, meningitis and sepsis. Such treatment methods include administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of a pharmaceutical composition comprising SP-CHAP polypeptide, polypeptide fragments, SP-CHAP encoding nucleic acids (RNA / DNA) or variants thereof.