Please remember this is an Ecumenical thread — no antagonism or your post will be deleted by the Religion Moderator.
I am a new Catholic, a recent convert from an Episcopalian background, as I’ve mentioned. The concept of Purgatory is new to me, though it seems very logical.
My question is, is there any way we can know when and if souls are released from Purgatory? That is, do we continue praying for souls who died hundreds of years ago?
Also—I’m really not trying to be annoying, please forgive me—do we know anything of the way souls in Purgatory are purified and readied for heaven? Does the Church have some teaching on whether certain people who are not exactly martyrs but are great souls, like Mother Teresa, can go straight to heaven?