Abstract EN:

During the second half of the Nineteenth century in France, religious to souls of the Purgatory has strongly been " recharged ". Many reasons contribute to explain this phenomenon, such as the importance of the cult to the Dead, the Church' s ambition of giving a new impulsion to Catholicism insisting on devoutness towards the deceased, the belief in "the great number of the Flected" and the will to fight aigainst philosophical/religious movements such as Spiritualism, that would come into opposition to the Catholic approach ot te "End of time ". A this time, the cult of Purgatory wore a thaumaturgic dimension that was missing until then, with the Dead being more than prayer for; they were prayed as true intercessors. Therefore, the Nineteenth century obviously was te greatest tirne of devotion to the souls of the Purgatory. At first, the movement showed appropriate forms of this devotion on an institutionnal aspect with the creation of Brotherhoods, the "oeuvres de messes" and various specialized religious Congregations. A devotional lightening of this trend can be seen through the prayers for te "Abandoned Souls ", the intercessions of the Dead, an increased veneration for the "Virgin of te Suffrage" as well as with te Apparitions. Finally, this devotion wore a theological sight with the rnystical fascination for the souls of the Purgatory that was considered as te "normal way to Salute ". This system's vitality has been predominant until the First World War, of which wa have tried to explain why and how it brutally broke its expansion. After this time, devotion came into a time of decline, particularly noticeably after 1930/1935, a time of deep devotional and theological changes.