At the age of 22, St. Christina the Astonishing (1150 AD - 1220 AD) suffered a seizure and was thought to be dead. According to Butler's Lives of the Saints, at her funeral Mass, during the Agnus Dei, St. Christina sat up in her coffin, flew to the church roof, and perched there. She did so, St. Christina explained, because she could not bear the smell of sinful human beings. St. Christina also said that she had, in fact, been dead, and while in that condition had visited Heaven, Purgatory and Hell. She had recognized friends and acquaintances in the latter two places. According to St. Christina, the torments that the souls in Purgatory endured "appeared so excessive" that it was "impossible to give an idea of their rigor." St. Christina dedicated the rest of her life to prayer and sacrifice on behalf of the friends she had seen in Purgatory ( h/t Accepting Abundance).
St. Christina the Astonishing, pray for us.
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