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How did Pope Gregory I help develop the doctrine of purgatory?

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Anastasis (Christ ascending from hell), apse fresco, c. 1320; in the Church of the Holy Saviour at the Monastery of the Chora (now the Kariye Museum), Istanbul. — purgatory *Anastasis* (Christ ascending from hell), apse fresco, c. 1320; in the Church of the Holy Saviour at the Monastery of the Chora (now the Kariye Museum), Istanbul.

Pope Gregory I (reigned 590–604) played a significant role in the development of the doctrine of purgatory by elaborating on the concept of a purgatorial fire.

Building upon the earlier distinctions made by St. Augustine, Gregory treated this fire as an extension beyond the grave of the metaphorical fire of redemptive suffering. He emphasized that while the state of salvation or damnation is determined at the moment of death, those destined for salvation may undergo a process of purification. Consequently, he strongly commended the practice of offering masses to assist these suffering souls.1

Furthermore, Gregory’s accounts of return-from-the-dead stories helped reinforce the belief that the deceased could undergo purgation and benefit from the intercessory prayers and actions of the living.1