diff --git a/src/spec/Reference.php b/src/spec/Reference.php
index 1eef2eca..5b5b88c7 100644
--- a/src/spec/Reference.php
+++ b/src/spec/Reference.php
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@
  */
 class Reference implements SpecObjectInterface, DocumentContextInterface
 {
+    static $file_cache = [];
+
     private $_to;
     private $_ref;
     private $_jsonReference;
@@ -206,7 +208,7 @@ public function resolve(ReferenceContext $context = null)
             // resolve in external document
             $file = $context->resolveRelativeUri($jsonReference->getDocumentUri());
             // TODO could be a good idea to cache loaded files in current context to avoid loading the same files over and over again
-            $referencedDocument = $this->fetchReferencedFile($file);
+            $referencedDocument = $this->getReferencedFile($file);
             $referencedData = $jsonReference->getJsonPointer()->evaluate($referencedDocument);
 
             if ($referencedData === null) {
@@ -258,6 +260,18 @@ public function resolve(ReferenceContext $context = null)
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * @throws UnresolvableReferenceException
+     */
+    private function getReferencedFile($uri)
+    {
+        if(!isset(self::$file_cache[$uri])) {
+            self::$file_cache[$uri] = $this->fetchReferencedFile($uri);
+        }
+
+        return self::$file_cache[$uri];
+    }
+
     /**
      * @throws UnresolvableReferenceException
      */