The Dark Crusade Against the Cathars

They called themselves Christians— the Church called them heretics. What followed was

one of the darkest crusades in history. In 1209, Pope Innocent III launched a crusade—not

against Muslims, but against fellow Christians known as the Cathars. (Follow now.)

They believed in peace, simplicity, and that no church should own gold.

The Vatican saw defiance. Armies of “holy warriors” swept through Languedoc,

slaughtering entire towns. When asked how to tell heretics from believers,

a papal legate famously said: “Kill them all—God will know His own.” Follow for more

forbidden chapters of Church history. It wasn’t faith that burned Languedoc— it was fear of losing