told her that the soul of his protege' had left the pit and passed into the ordinary Purgatory. This partial alleviation did not suffice the charity of Lidwina; she continued to pray for the poor patient, and to apply to him the merits of her sufferings, until she saw the gates of Heaven opened to him.
CHAPTER VIII.
Location of Purgatory — St. Gregory the Great — The Deacon Paschasius and the Priest of Centumcella — Blessed Stephen, a Franciscan, and the Religious in his Stall — Theophilus Renaud and the Sick Woman of Dole.
According to St. Thomas and other doctors, as we have previously seen, Divine Justice, in particular cases, assigns a special place upon earth for certain souls. This opinion we find confirmed by several facts, among which we quote the two mentioned by St. Gregory the Great in his " Dialogues." [1] Whilst I was young and still a layman, I heard told to the seniors, who were well-informed men, how the Deacon Paschasius appeared to Germain, Bishop of Capua. Paschasius, Deacon of the Apostolic See, whose books on the Holy Ghost are still extant, was a man of eminent sanctity, devoted to works of charity, zealous for the relief of the poor, and most forgetful of self. A dispute having arisen concerning a pontifical election, Paschasius separated himself from the Bishops, and joined the party disapproved by the Episcopacy. Soon after this he died, with a reputation for sanctity which God confirmed by a miracle: an instantaneous cure was effected on the day of the funeral by the simple touch of his dalmatic. Long after this, Germain, Bishop of Capua, was sent by the physicians
- ↑ Dialog, iv. 40
