Did you know the Catholic Church is responsible for some foods?
On this episode of "The Catholic Talk Show," Ryan Scheel, Ryan DellaCrosse, and Father Rich Pagano discuss four foods we owe to the Catholic Church and the history behind them.
1) Coffee ☕
When coffee was brought back to Europe after the Crusades, it was condemned at first by some clergy as "Satan’s drink." However, after tasting coffee, Scheel explains Pope Clement VIII declared it “so delicious that it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it. We shall cheat Satan by baptizing it.”
Thanks to his blessing, coffee became a beloved beverage for Catholics and spread throughout Europe.
2) Chicken 🍗
With selective breeding, ninth-century Benedictine monks developed a gene in chickens that made them less aggressive, more productive, and faster growing. Scheel explains “they started really domesticating and hybridizing them,” which led to the egg-laying and meat-producing chickens we know today.
3) Pizza 🍕
The first-ever pizza delivery in history was actually to a Catholic bishop! The word "pizza" appeared in a rental agreement document between Duke Marino and a bishop in Italy. Scheel says “the Duke agreed to pay the bishop for the use of the land that had the mill on it, in pizza.”
4) Bacon 🥓
In Acts, Saint Peter had a vision telling him "What God has made clean, you are not to call profane." This lifted Old Testament dietary restrictions, allowing Christians to consume pork products, including bacon. “Thank you, Jesus, for bacon,” says Father Pagano!
The guys say “If it were not for the Catholic Church, you probably wouldn’t eat” these common foods today. 😲