“I saw Our Lady visiting the souls in purgatory”

In purgatory, the soul is in a process of passive purification. In addition to the help of saints and angels, in particular Saint Michael, Saint Faustina, a Polish nun canonized by John Paul II in 2000, recounts in her Diary having visited purgatory. Guided by her guardian angel, she saw the most consoling presence of all, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Purgatory:

“I saw my guardian angel, who ordered me to follow him. In a moment I was in a misty place full of fire in which there was a great crowd of suffering souls. They were praying fervently, but to no avail, for themselves; only we can come to their aid. The flames, which were burning them, did not touch me at all. My guardian angel did not leave me for an instant. I asked these souls what their greatest suffering was. They answered me in one voice that their greatest torment was longing for God.

“I saw Our Lady visiting the souls in purgatory. The souls call her ‘The Star of the Sea.’ She brings them refreshment. I wanted to talk with them some more, but my guardian angel beckoned me to leave. We went out of that prison of suffering. [I heard an interior voice, which said] ‘My mercy does not want this, but justice demands it. Since that time I am in closer communion with the suffering souls.’”

Saint Faustina’s Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, 20