On this day, Pope Gregory I, also known as Gregory the Great, issued a papal decree requiring all Christians to use the expression “God bless you” when in the presence of someone who sneezed. Gregory came to the papal throne in the year 590 after his predecessor, Pope Pelagius II, fell victim to the bubonic plague that was decimating the population of Europe in that period. Sneezing was generally considered to be one of the first signs of contamination and it was therefore quite a common practice, as a preventative measure, to heap blessings upon anyone who sneezed. Pope Gregory, having called for processions and unceasing prayers to beg for God’s protection and intercession, eventually formalised these common blessings with his papal decree. He was also a key figure in converting the pagan Anglo-Saxons of Britain to Christianity.
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