On March 15, 1517, Pope Leo X officially approved the sale of indulgences within the Catholic Church. The construction of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican had far exceeded its budget, and the Pope’s financial adviser suggested the idea of selling indulgences that would help repentant sinners escape purgatory sooner. Eventually, a regional indulgences salesman stopped at the Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany, and priest Martin Luther challenged the sale of these indulgences, claiming there was no Scriptural basis for it. Thus began the Protestant Reformation.
