Origin

The Catholic Church proclaimed itself to be the church that Jesus Christ died for, the church that was established and built by the Apostles.

8th Century

In AD 800, Emperor Charlemagne, ruler of the Frankish Empire was crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III.^[4]

Darkhold

In AD 1145, the Elder God-turned-demon Chthon committed most of his evil spells into documents called the Darkhold scrolls. An evil monk named Aelfric the Mad Monk eventually gathered them together, but he was burned at the stake. The Catholic Church then came into possession of the scrolls. Paolo Montesi was a monk who was the curator of the Darkhold scrolls and was tasked with translating them. Paolo learned of something called the Malachy Prophecy, which told of the tenure of each pope for nearly the next thousand years. Paolo gave this information to Pope Eugene III. The Pope declared that the scrolls and everything related to the Darkhold would be compiled into one volume to be known as the Book of Sins, of which Paolo and his family would be entrusted to its care and safe keeping. The Pope allowed Paolo a special dispensation to marry so that Paolo's descendants would safeguard the book. Paolo was killed by the first vampire and the first Lord of the Vampires, Varnae, who had hoped to keep the church from using the scrolls to wipe out all vampires. Paolo's infant son, Giacomo, was born soon afterward, and for 800 years the Montesi family dedicated themselves to destroying vampires.^[5]

Crusades

From the 11th to the 16th centuries,^{[citation needed]} the Catholic Church began military campaigns with the aim of capturing Jerusalem from Islamic rule.^[6] During this time, the Knights Templar became one of the wealthiest and most powerful of the Christian military orders in Europe. They were officially endorsed by the Catholic Church. The Knights wore distinctive white mantles with a red cross. They were one of the many groups to take part in the invasion of the Holy Land in the Middle East.^[7] During the Crusades, the Knights Templar attempted an invasion of the African nation of Wakanda. They were unable to defeat the tiny African nation, as they defeated the European invaders with ease.^[8]

Inquisition

The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition, was started by the Catholic Church to establish dominance across its territories by persecuting those of others' faiths. A powerful sorcerer by the name of Diablo gained power in Spain during this time; he used the Philosopher's Stone to thwart his enemies. Despite all his power, the Inquisition were many and he was soon forced to flee Spain, apparently losing the Philosopher's Stone in the process.^[9] The Skrulls were also active during the Inquisition.^[10]

15th-16th Century

From the 15th to the 16th century, the Catholic Church was heavily influenced by the Borgia family, who became prominent in ecclesiastical and political affairs, with the family producing two Popes: Pope Callixtus III and Pope Alexander VI. One of the worst members of the family was Lucrezia Borgia.^[11][12]

18th Century

In 1774, religious scholar Alessandro Di Cagliostro was searching for the secret of immortality. Cagliostro learned the location of the Book of Sins, a.k.a. the Darkhold. The Lord of the Vampires, Dracula, was then the latest owner. Cagliostro managed to steal the book from the Gypsy who had been sent to the Vatican by Dracula, and earned the vampire's enmity. From the Darkhold, Cagliostro learned the secrets that would enable him to make an elixir of immortality, but he needed exotic components that were unavailable to him.^[13]

In 1789, the Vatican ordered the arrest of Cagliostro on the grounds that Freemasonry was a heresy, and he was imprisoned in the Castle of San Leo near Montefeltro. He was reputed to have died in 1795 in a cell in Italy's Papal States, but in reality Cagliostro had at some point left to continue his unending quest for occult power.^[14]

Modern Age

Isaiah Curwen was once a member of the Vatican and was a potential successor to the Pope. However, he was overlooked due to his youth and fanaticism. He then studied the black arts and was determined to become God's weapon and fight against the followers of Satan. While studying to be "the Silver Dagger," he traveled the world slaughtering those he viewed as his opponents. He then sought out the Ancient One, but found Doctor Strange instead.^[15]

After the possession and death of Father Ramón Jóquez by the spirit of the evil monk Aelfric, the suspicions of Monsignor Giuseppe Montesi arose. Using the Vatican Library, he was able to uncover the Montesi Formula that his family had been seeking for centuries.^[16] He was killed by Dracula, but before he died, Montesi told Dracula that he mailed the formula to Dracula's enemy, Quincy Harker.^[17]

In 1978, Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla became the new Pope and assumed the name John Paul II.^[2] A race called the Hidden Ones spread in the positions of power and, among other things, maneuvered John Paul II to cause schism in his ranks.^[18]

The Catholic Church supported Klaw's invasion of Wakanda, sending their mercenary Augustine du Lac, the Black Knight. He wielded the Ebony Blade, which was found by the Vatican, and riding a flying horse named Aragorn.^[19]

During the Skrull Invasion of Earth, a Skrull infiltrated the Catholic Church and took the form of the Pope.^[20]