The Church’s Definitions

The doctrine of Purgatory belongs to the ordinary and universal Magisterium of the Church from the earliest centuries. It was solemnly defined at three ecumenical councils, each addressing the question in the context of reunification with the Eastern churches or in response to the errors of the Protestant Reformers.

The Second Council of Lyons

The Second Council of Lyons, the fourteenth ecumenical council, addressed the doctrine of Purgatory in the Profession of Faith of Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus, drawn up as part of the attempted reunion with the Greek Church. The profession states:

"If those who are truly penitent die in charity before they have done sufficient penance for their sins of commission and omission, their souls are purified after death by purgatorial or cleansing punishments. The suffrages of the living faithful — namely, the Sacrifice of the Mass, prayers, almsgiving, and other works of piety — are of benefit to them for the relief of such punishments."

This is the first solemn conciliar definition affirming Purgatory by name, the nature of purgatorial cleansing, and the efficacy of the suffrages of the living.

The Council of Florence

The Council of Florence, the seventeenth ecumenical council, reiterated and expanded the teaching on Purgatory in the Decree for the Greeks ( Laetentur Caeli), again in the context of reunion with the Eastern churches. The decree states:

"The souls of those who depart this life in the state of grace, but have not yet made full satisfaction for their transgressions, are purified after death by the pains of purgatory. The suffrages of the living faithful — namely, the Sacrifice of the Mass, prayers, almsgiving, and other works of piety — which the faithful are accustomed to offer for one another according to the practices of the Church, are of profit to them for the release of such pains."

Florence further specified the state of those who die in grace but without perfect satisfaction, and reaffirmed the utility of suffrages offered by the living.

The Council of Trent on Purgatory

The Council of Trent, summoned in response to the Protestant Reformation, issued a solemn Decree Concerning Purgatory at its twenty-fifth and final session in December 1563. Luther, Calvin, and the other Reformers had denied the existence of Purgatory and attacked the practice of offering Masses and prayers for the dead. The Council replied:

"The Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Ghost, has, from the sacred Scriptures and the ancient tradition of the Fathers, taught, in sacred councils, and very recently in this ecumenical synod, that there is a Purgatory, and that the souls there detained are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, but principally by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar."

Trent also issued pastoral directives: bishops were to ensure that sound doctrine on Purgatory be taught and preached, that the more difficult and subtle questions not suited to popular instruction be excluded from ordinary preaching, and that superstitious practices and abuses connected with indulgences and Masses for the dead be corrected and abolished. Trent did not define the precise nature of the purgatorial fire or the manner of purification, leaving these as matters of legitimate theological discussion.

Trent's decree is the most authoritative definition, directly answering the Protestant denial and grounding the doctrine in Scripture, Tradition, and the prior councils.