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How does Roman Catholic teaching describe the purpose 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.

In Roman Catholic teaching, purgatory is described as a condition, process, or place of purification or temporary punishment. Its primary purpose is to make the souls of those who die in a state of grace ready for heaven.1

Theological doctrine posits that while the guilt of sin may be forgiven through absolution, a debt of temporal punishment often remains. Purgatory serves as a space in the afterlife where individuals continue to cancel this accumulated debt of their sins. This process is rooted in the belief that satisfaction for sin not completed during one's earthly life must be fulfilled after death.23

The Church teaches that this state of purification can be aided by the prayers and good works of the living, who act in charity to help lessen the severity of the suffering or shorten the duration of the purification for those in purgatory.23