St Patrick's Purgatory
On a small island in an Irish lake, medieval pilgrims were locked in a cave for a night, and some said they saw the torments of Purgatory.
What was reported
Legend says Christ showed Saint Patrick a pit on Station Island, in Lough Derg, that led to Purgatory, so that he could convince the Irish of the afterlife. From the 12th century, pilgrims from all over Europe came to enter the cave.
After days of fasting, they were shut in for a day and a night. A famous account told of a knight, Owein, who passed through visions of punishment and paradise inside. Others came out shaken, or claimed to have seen nothing.
Explanations offered
The cave was ordered closed in 1497 and later destroyed, but the pilgrimage continues: each summer, pilgrims spend three days on the island, barefoot and fasting, including a night without sleep. It's one of the oldest pilgrimages in Europe.
- When
- A pilgrimage since the Middle Ages
- Where
- Station Island, Lough Derg, Donegal, Ireland
- Witnesses
- Medieval pilgrims, and pilgrims today
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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