178th Pope of the Catholic Church. Pontificate 1227 - 1241. canonised Elisabeth of Hungary, 1235. Initiated the Inquisition in France. Perhaps his most lasting action was a minor item: his papal letter Vox in Rama of 1232 is credited with the vilification of cats, through its description of cult practises involving felines. This led to a great reduction in the number of cats, which, a hundred years later, may have contributed to the quick spread of the Black Death plague, which killed one-third to one-half of the population of Europe. He transformed a chapel to Our Lady in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome.