When Pope Gregory IX of the Catholic Church Declared a War on Cats

And how this stupid war on poor cats ultimately backfired.

Image by CircaSassy is licensed under CC BY 2.0. (Public Domain)

Either you’re a cat person, or you’re not. Pope Gregory IX, most certainly, was the latter.

You’ve probably heard that black cats are a symbol of bad luck. But do you have any idea who started this superstition? Black cats have been linked to the occult since the 13th century, when Pope Gregory IX issued an official church document called “Vox in Rama” on June 13, 1233.

“Why in the world would someone wage war on a cat?” you may wonder, as do many others. I’m pretty sure I would agree with you. Pope Gregory, on the other hand, had his reasons, which made sense to him and his followers.

Gregory IX and the Cats

Gregory’s theory was based on “evidence” from a papal inquisitor, Conrad of Marburg. Torture, it appears, resulted in some fairly compelling testimonies from folks who idolized the dark lord and his black cat.

A confession might have gone something like this,

“Well, we’d all go to this Black mass, We’d all kiss the cat and then have fun in the dark, where a giant cat statue came alive, as alive as you or I. Candles were lit when it was all over, and a man emerged…