Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Why are souls in purgatory considered assured of salvation?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
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 belief, souls in purgatory are considered assured of salvation because they have already died in a state of grace.1
Rather than being a place of eternal damnation, purgatory is understood as a condition or process of purification for those who are destined for heaven but require further preparation to be made ready for it. Because these souls have already secured their path to salvation through their state of grace at the time of death, their experience in purgatory is a temporary period of refinement rather than a final judgment of condemnation.1