The Revival Of The Cult Of Purgatory In France (1850–1914)

Abstract

Abstract The cult of souls in purgatory underwent a massive revival in France during the second half of the nineteenth century and recorded, at least down to the Great War, a success that made a stunning contemporary impact. The importance of the cult of the dead, the hopes and fears it aroused among the clergy, the necessity of striking an expiatory balance between the decline of belief in Hell and the hope of going to Heaven, plus the desire to counteract those developments that called into question the Catholic belief in ‘last things’, all help to explain the phenomenon. The nineteenth-century movement, which was situated in the context of a long history of belief in purgatory, was endowed with specific features, on the doctrinal as well as on the devotional and institutional levels. The two most significant innovations were prayers for ‘abandoned souls’, and the recourse to souls in purgatory as intercessors for the living. In welcoming the advent of this thaumaturgical dimension, which had hitherto been lacking, the cult was provided with a solid foundation, which turned the nineteenth century into the age par excellence of the cult of souls in Purgatory.