Q’s from the Pews: What is the origin of purgatory? February 22, 2026

The word purgatory entered the language of the Catholic faith in the 12th century. Peter Lombard, Bishop of Paris, wrote a four-volume book that became known simply as The Sentences. The Sentences quickly became the foundational textbook for those studying theology.

Writing on the theology of purification of the soul after death, Lombard referred to a purgatory fire (Ignis Purgatorius). The scriptural basis of this is found in Maccabees 12, and 1 Corinthians. Later, others used the noun purgatorium to describe the cleansing fires. This noun can also mean a physical place rather than the process of purification. A confused theology arose. Was purgatory a place or a process?

The Council of Lyons (1274) defined purgatory by adopting the teaching of Pope Innocent IV. It declared those who died with “insufficient penance for their sins” required “purgatorial or cleansing punishments.” Innocent basing his teaching on the Greek Fathers of the Church, viewing purgatory as a process. The Council of Trent (1545), countering Martin Luther, inadvertently muddied the place/process issue. “The Catholic Church, Scripture and the Fathers taught there is a purgatory.”