St. Lidwina of Schiedam, who died April 11, 1433, was an admirable virgin, and a true wonder of patience. She was subject to all the pains of the cruelest maladies for thirty-eight years. Her sufferings made it nearly impossible for her to sleep, and so she would often pass the long nights in prayer. She was often brought on mystical journeys. She made pilgrimages on earth - to the holy places in Palestine, to the churches of Rome, and to monasteries in the vicinity. Her knowledge of such places was exact to the smallest detail. One of these journeys took her to the depths of Purgatory.

An unfortunate sinner, entangled in the corruptions of the world, was finally converted. Thanks to the prayers and urgent counsels of Lidwina, he made a sincere confession of all his sins and received absolution. But he had little time to do penance, because he died of the plague shortly afterwards. After he died, Lidwina offered up many prayers and sufferings for his soul.

Some time later, she was taken by her angel-guardian into Purgatory. When they got there, she remembered about the deceased sinner. She wanted to know if he was still in Purgatory, and, if so, what condition he was in.

“He is there.” said her angel, “And he suffers much. Would you be willing to endure some pain in order to lessen his suffering?”

“Certainly.” she replied, “I am ready to suffer anything to help him.”

Instantly her angel brought her into a place of frightful torture. Seized with horror, the holy maiden asked her angel.

“Is this Hell, my brother?”

“No, sister.” answered the angel, “But this part of Purgatory is bordering upon hell.”

Looking around on all sides, she saw an immense prison, surrounded with walls of an immense height. The blackness of these walls, together with the monstrous stones, filled her with horror. As she approached the dismal prison, she heard the horrendous noise of moaning voices, shouts of fury, chains, instruments of torture, and violent beatings which the executioners gave their victims. All the chaos of the world, in tempest or battle, could not compare with this soul-gripping noise.

“What is that horrible place?” St. Lidwina asked her good angel.

“Do you want me to show it to you?”

“No, I beg you!” she replied, recoiling with terror; "The noise which I hear is so frightful that I can no longer bear it. How, then, could I endure the sight of those horrors?”

So, they continued on their mysterious route. Then they approached a desolate place where she saw an angel seated sadly on the curb of a well.

“Who is that angel?” she asked her guide.

“It is the angel-guardian of the sinner that you are interested in. The sinner’s soul is in this well, where it has a special Purgatory.” At these words, Lidwina glanced at her angel, with a questioning look. She wanted to see that soul which was dear to her. She hoped to release it from that frightful pit. Her angel understood her, and took off the cover of the well. A cloud of flames, together with the most pitiful cries, came from the pit.

“Do you recognize that voice?” The angel asked her.

“Alas, yes!” The servant of God replied. It was the voice of the sinner she had converted so shortly before his death.

“Do you wish to see that soul?” The angel continued.

When Lidwina replied that she did, the angel called the sinner by his name. Immediately, at the mouth of the pit, the sinner appeared as a spirit all on fire. This poor being spoke to her in a voice that could barely be heard.

“O Lidwina, servant of God, who will make me behold the face of the Most High?”

The sight of this soul, a prey to the most terrible torment of fire, was more than Lidwina could take. It gave her such a shock that the cincture which she wore around her was torn instantly. She could not bear the sight any longer, and awoke suddenly from her ecstasy.

The persons who were present when she came out of her ecstasy could see that she was afraid. When they asked her why, she told them.

“Alas! How frightful are the prisons of Purgatory! I agreed to descend there in order to help the poor souls. Without this motivation, I would not undergo the terror which that horrible spectacle caused me, even if the whole world were given to me.”

Some days later, she saw the same angel who had been so dejected by the well. His kind face was filled with joy, as he passed on comforting news. This angel-guardian told her that the soul under his care had left the horrible pit where she had seen him. He had now passed into the ordinary Purgatory.

So, this soul’s pains had decreased, but they were not over. This did not satisfy St. Lidwina. In her charity, she continued to pray for the poor man. She offered for him countless prayers as well as all the merits of her sufferings - until at last she had the great joy of seeing the gates of Heaven opened to him.