All Souls’ Day, according to many Christians’ tradition, is a holy day of remembrance and prayer for the souls of the departed, to help these souls purify in purgatory in preparation for heaven.

Catholics, as well as some Christians like The Chronicles of Narnia author C.S. Lewis, believe in souls’ purification before joining the Lord in paradise.

The Bible, as said in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, cites Saint Paul as mentioning the purification of souls for those who are saved in the afterlife “but only as through” the “purifying fire.” Praying for souls, then, follows the example of early Jewish leader Judas Maccabeus who prayed for his slain friends as written in 2 Maccabees.

Perhaps, it was that “purifying fire” from purgatory that Italian priest Victor Jouet saw.

In 1897, fire burned a chapel in Chiesa del Sacro Cuore del Suffragio (The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus) in Rome, Italy. Because of its Neo-Gothic style, the church, designed by Italian engineer Giuseppe Gualandi, has been sometimes dubbed as “little Milan Cathedral.” 

After the fire, behind the chapel’s burned altar, Fr. Victor discovered an impressed image of a man with a sad face. Jouet believed that the image belonged to a soul in purgatory asking for prayers. 

To convince more people to pray for souls in purgatory, and to invite them to raise funds for the church’s restoration, the priest amassed similar artifacts and put them on display at what is now known as the Museo delle Anime del Purgatorio (Museum of the Holy Souls in Purgatory), a small room in a 17th-century convent connected to the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Until today, the museum can be visited for free anytime that the church is open. Its chilling collection includes photos, documents and actual artifacts that included charred images and imprints of hands-on clothes, books and a desk, as well as news clippings of reports of the living’s contact with the dead asking for prayers and masses. 

This All Souls’ Day, while traditions include visiting cemeteries, dedicating masses and lighting candles, it is also noteworthy to visit churches like Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and museums like Museum of the Holy Souls in Purgatory to remind one to care for one’s loved ones — in this world and beyond.