# Is "limbo" a real thing for christians/Catholics? Or is it made-up? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 23, 2026, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945 "2026-01-23T01:17:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/1 "2026-01-23T01:17:34Z")
I was talking to my GF and we somehow got to discussing limbo. My understanding is it is not a part of christian/Catholic doctrine. It’s made-up. But without it what does the church tell women about the fate of a stillborn baby’s soul (or any baby who has not been baptized before it dies)? ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/2 "2026-01-23T01:23:51Z")
I survived Catholic School grades K thru 8 in 1955 - 64 and Limbo was definitely a big part of the indoctrination. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/3 "2026-01-23T01:24:31Z")
Having been raised Catholic, I do remember being taught about Limbo. It may well have been RCC doctrine at some point, though I don’t think that there is any Scriptural basis for it. As far as I am aware, it’s only a Catholic thing. I’ve not heard of a Protestant denomination which believes in it. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/4 "2026-01-23T01:28:50Z")
Are there others who end up in Limbo apart from un-baptized children? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/5 "2026-01-23T01:31:57Z")
It was definitely doctrine at one point, something I know mainly because I recall the Catholic Church officially declaring not canon any more. Back in 2007, after googling. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/6 "2026-01-23T01:32:11Z")
Is this purgatory, y’all are meaning? I’ve never been to church much, the only Limbo I know is a dance. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/7 "2026-01-23T01:33:34Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Is this purgatory, y’all are meaning? Nope. The idea of Limbo was that unbaptized babies would go there since they are still burdened with “original sin”, but not guilty of any personal sins. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/8 "2026-01-23T01:33:54Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Are there others who end up in Limbo apart from un-baptized children? The same Catholic theologians also postulated the “Limbo of the Patriarchs,” where the pious and good who lived before Jesus’ death and resurrected dwelled until He redeemed them, during the three days between his death and resurrection. Also, it doesn’t appear to me that the RCC formally recognizes the concept of Limbo anymore (if it ever did), though that clearly doesn’t prevent many Catholics from still believing in it. > **[Limbo | Limbo of the Patriarchs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbo#Limbo_of_the_Patriarchs)** > > The "Limbo of the Patriarchs" or "Limbo of the Fathers" (Latin limbus patrum) is seen as the temporary state of those who, despite the sins they may have committed, died in the friendship of God but could not enter heaven until redemption by Jesus Christ made it possible. The term Limbo of the Fathers was a medieval name for the part of the underworld (Hades) where the patriarchs of the Old Testament were believed to be kept until Christ's soul descended into it by his death through crucifixio Th... ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/9 "2026-01-23T01:36:03Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Is this purgatory, y’all are meaning? No, in Catholic thinking, Limbo was only for babies who died before being baptized, and were too young to have sinned. Purgatory was the “holding cell,” as it were, where most believers could expect to spend some time in penitence for their sins, before being allowed to proceed to Heaven. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/10 "2026-01-23T01:39:57Z")
Yeah, count me in as another one who was raised Catholic and sent to Catholic schools. Yes, I was taught about limbo. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It may well have been RCC doctrine at some point, though I don’t think that there is any Scriptural basis for it. I don’t know of any scriptural basis, although that wouldn’t be, in and of itself, enough for me to claim outright that there isn’t. The way I was taught the idea, though, led me to think it was official doctrine. But the whole idea of limbo was one of the things that caused me to fall away. When you have to invent a bunch of highly contrived stuff to get the theology to work (by whatever definition of “work”), something just isn’t right down at the very core of it. If you want me to believe in a religion, give me simplicity and intuitiveness. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/11 "2026-01-23T01:40:00Z")
Thank you. This is interesting. I’ll read along. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/12 "2026-01-23T01:48:45Z")
Limbo was never dogma, and the Vatican downgraded the idea to a 'possibly hypothesis" not a teaching any more. And no, that doesnt mean unbaptized babies go the hell or Purgatory- Jesus will provide salvation for them- or so they say. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/13 "2026-01-23T01:57:07Z")
Purgatory, meanwhile, is still an official part of Catholic doctrine, but the Church teaches almost no details about it. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/14 "2026-01-23T02:56:12Z")
So is it only unbaptized babies that end up in Limbo? Is Purgatory a sort of half-hell? Hell-lite? You (general “you”) were not completely awful but still deserve punishment? Is Limbo a nice place? Awful place? Or just…meh (which is kinda awful). ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/15 "2026-01-23T03:17:56Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > So is it only unbaptized babies that end up in Limbo? That’s how it was always presented, yes. The reasoning was that they went to Limbo because, not being baptized (and, thus, not being Christian), they had no path to Heaven, but as they had not sinned, they didn’t deserve to go to Hell. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Is Limbo a nice place? Awful place? Or just…meh (which is kinda awful). My understanding is that it wasn’t a bad place, but because they were not in Heaven, and not in God’s presence, it could not be as wonderful as Heaven was supposed to be. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Is Purgatory a sort of half-hell? Hell-lite? You (general “you”) were not completely awful but still deserve punishment? Kinda-sorta. The idea behind Purgatory is that nearly all Christians would spend some (undefined) time in Purgatory, before finally being admitted to Heaven, during which their minor sins and imperfect contrition for those sins was “burned away” or “purged.” It wasn’t meant to be pleasant, but it was not meant to be nearly as bad as Hell, and those in Purgatory would, at some point, go to Heaven. Hypothetically, a Christian who lived a pious life could expect to spend a minimal amount of time in Purgatory. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/16 "2026-01-23T03:27:37Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > My understanding is that it wasn’t a bad place, but because they were not in Heaven, and not in God’s presence, it could not be as wonderful as Heaven was supposed to be. Yeah. The medieval “Disney version”-ish representation of the Catholic doctrinal Limbo is [the one in Dante’s _Inferno_ :](https://matthewramage.com/the-fascinating-world-of-dantes-limbo/) > [@](#): > > In the _Inferno_’s fourth canto, Dante’s Virgil gives us the inner rationale that determined the fate of souls in limbo. > > They did not sin. If they had merits, these > were not enough–baptism they did not have, > the one gate to the faith which _you_ [Dante the pilgrim] believe. > And if they lived before the Christian faith, > they did not give God homage as they ought, > and of these people I myself am one. > > Here Dante reveals the presence of souls in limbo who shuffled off this mortal coil both before and after the advent of Christ. These souls receive the least brutal of Hell’s punishments since they did not sin on earth, but the fact remains that they had to go to this place because they lacked baptism, which gives the soul the sanctifying grace necessary to participate in the life of Christ and so attain the Beatific Vision. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/17 "2026-01-23T03:42:44Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Yeah, count me in as another one who was raised Catholic and sent to Catholic schools. Yes, I was taught about limbo. Me, too. Limbo was also a handy escape clause for when the nuns got tired of being asked what happened to non-Catholics like Gahndi who exemplified Christ’s virtues. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/18 "2026-01-23T04:02:03Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > So is it only unbaptized babies that end up in Limbo? No. or at least no longer and it was never actual dogma. Are you reading the replies? > [@DrDeth](#): > > Limbo was never dogma, and the Vatican downgraded the idea to a 'possibly hypothesis" not a teaching any more. > > And no, that doesnt mean unbaptized babies go the hell or Purgatory- Jesus will provide salvation for them- or so they say. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/19 "2026-01-23T04:07:01Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Are you reading the replies? Are you an authority on this topic? Your pronouncements are the final word? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/20 "2026-01-23T04:12:17Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Are you an authority on this topic? Your pronouncements are the final word? Have you found anything that shows i am wrong? But here- > **[What's the Deal with Limbo?](https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/whats-the-deal-with-limbo)** > > Do Catholics have to believe in Limbo? Can they if they want to? Or was Limbo 'canceled' in 2000s? All your questions answered! [https://uscatholic.org/articles/202311/glad-you-asked-do-catholics-believe-in-limbo/](https://uscatholic.org/articles/202311/glad-you-asked-do-catholics-believe-in-limbo/) [https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/guest-voices/pope-benedict-closed-limbo-and-no-one-complained](https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/guest-voices/pope-benedict-closed-limbo-and-no-one-complained) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945.md?page=2)