This is number one of my 10 Global Hellgates Series!
Location: Lough Derg, County Donegal, Ireland
What: St. Patrick’s Purgatory
Story: According to legend, St. Patrick had grown discouraged by the doubts of his converts, after they told him that they could not believe in his teachings without proof. So he prayed to God, for 40 days & nights doing nothing but praying, fasting, and facing many temptations. Until by the end of those 40 days & nights, God finally revealed to him a pit in the ground, which was called Purgatory.
One legend of St. Patrick’s Purgatory, is about a knight.
“The legend of St. Patrick’s Purgatory fits into the tradition of the Irish imrama, or tales of voyages to the Otherworld such as the Navigatio of St. Brendan (c. 1110-1120) and the mid-12th century Vision of Tnugdal. In the Espurgatoire the hero Owen is not dreaming or having a vision as is often the case in this genre. He is wide awake when he voluntarily and physically seeks out his adventure to the Otherworld. Owen not only volunteers but even demands, against the wishes of his superiors, to experience the purgation of sins through the torments of Purgatory. After remorsefully confessing his sins to an Irish bishop, Owen is unwilling to accept what he believes to be an unfittingly easy penance given by the holy man. Instead Owen insists on the extreme penance of a journey into Purgatory: “Too much have I transgressed against my Lord, and offended my Creator. Accordingly, I would choose, by your leave, the most heavy penance. I shall go forth and enter Saint Patrick’s Purgatory, so as to be purged and delivered from my sins.” It is no coincidence that there are ten torments to be endured. In medieval numerology the number ten is representative of perfection, revealing that when Owen has suffered through all ten torments he will be perfected by God. Before beginning his quest, Owen must go through a period of preparation and receives guidance from a holy prior about how to respond to the demons’ torments he will suffer. The prior advises him “In whatever torment you will experience, call on the name of Jesus Christ . . . for you will be delivered by his name.” This reliance on Jesus is essential because in the Espurgatoire, the demons of Purgatory torture souls by dragging them by hooks through fire, nailing them to the ground, hanging them by burning chains, roasting them on spits, plunging them into burning liquid, etc. While the demons promise Owen long life and pleasure if he would just turn back, he is not taken in by their lies and perseveres through the pains they inflict. Although every particular torment differs slightly from the others, each of Owen’s sufferings play out in the same way. It is not merely the pain itself, but Owen’s response to his suffering that is paramount. By trusting in the power and mercy of God to save him in his weakness, Owen is delivered. “When he began to feel great pain, he called upon Jesus for pity. Jesus’ name protected him well from the first torment to which he was subjected. After this invocation that he made upon the most Holy Name, he was set free.” In this he imitates Our Lord who calls out from the Cross to his Heavenly Father when in the midst of his suffering.” (See Source Number 4)
Early pilgrim account the have survived, referred to it as a cave or cellar or as an enclosed pit. Now its, a place of pilgrimage, where the faithful come to walk in the footsteps Saint Patrick. The cave has been filled in, however pilgrims still visit it to this day, where devout worshippers would take a three-day sojourn of contemplation, while barefoot.
Sources:
1.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Patrick%27s_Purgatory
2.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Patrick%27s_Purgatory
3.) https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/st-patrick-s-purgatory
4.) https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/a-knight-in-st-patricks-purgatory/
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