Particular Judgment
The judgment each soul receives from Christ immediately at death — heaven, purgatory or hell — as distinct from the Last Judgment of all humanity at the end of time.
Death ends the time in which we can accept or refuse God's grace. The Catechism teaches that each person receives eternal recompense in their immortal soul at the moment of death, in a particular judgment that refers their life to Christ: entrance into heaven, immediately or after purification, or immediate and everlasting damnation. The Last (or General) Judgment, when Christ returns in glory, will not reverse this but will reveal it publicly, in the presence of all, and will include the resurrection of the body.
Councils
Where the Church settled or debated this. Follow a council to read our article on it, or the decrees themselves.
- 1274Second Council of Lyonthe decrees
- 1431–1445Council of Basel–Ferrara–Florencethe decrees
Sources checked 29 September 2026