Where dead people go?

[irom]

I know saints go to heaven, but where the other people go ? Do they have to wait for tribulation ?

 

[japhy]

I know saints go to heaven, but where the other people go ? Do they have to wait for tribulation ?

The souls of the damned go to Hell (where their bodies will go at the Resurrection), and the souls of the saved [most likely after a period of purification in Purgatory] go to Heaven (where their bodies will go at the Resurrection).

 

[ljubim]

Remember, who we call saints are the ones we’re positive went to heaven. Literally all people in heaven are saints, so perhaps your grandma is a saint. Is the semantics what you’re confused about?

Also remember, there are two irreversible tracks. Heaven, hell. Purgatory is just on the road to heaven. And at the end of time there will be no purgatory any more.

 

[irom]

Thank you , no I 'm not confused about semantics. Someone asked me and I was not sure what is the church teaching.

 

[steve_b]

I know saints go to heaven, but where the other people go ? Do they have to wait for tribulation ?

From the Catechism
**1022 **Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven-through a purification or immediately, – or immediate and everlasting damnation.

**1030 **All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.
**1023 **Those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live for ever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they “see him as he is,” face to face:
By virtue of our apostolic authority, we define the following: According to the general disposition of God, the souls of all the saints . . . and other faithful who died after receiving Christ’s holy Baptism (provided they were not in need of purification when they died, . . . or, if they then did need or will need some purification, when they have been purified after death, . . .) already before they take up their bodies again and before the general judgment - and this since the Ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into heaven - have been, are and will be in heaven, in the heavenly Kingdom and celestial paradise with Christ, joined to the company of the holy angels. Since the Passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, these souls have seen and do see the divine essence with an intuitive vision, and even face to face, without the mediation of any creature.