Museo Delle Anime Del Purgatorio

Tucked inside the Chiesa del Sacro Cuore del Suffragio in Rome, the Museum of the Souls of Purgatory is a tiny collection that leaves a lasting impression. This “museum” is actually a single room off the sacristy, showcasing a few artifacts, mostly scorched fabrics, prayer books, and handwritten testimonies said to contain marks left by souls in Purgatory. The story began in 1897, when a priest named Victor Jouët saw a face appear in flames after a church fire, prompting him to collect these supernatural relics from across Europe. The church’s neo‑Gothic architecture adds a brooding, contemplative backdrop that enhances the eerie atmosphere.

Rome’s only Gothic church and well worth the visit to enjoy the beautiful artwork alone. The purgatory museum is a small room down a side hallway and is fascinating as well.

Absolutely beautiful church! Highly recommended anyone to visit. I've visited quite a few churches in Rome. And this one is definitely in the top 3!

This place could be better kept. It’s very small and in not great condition. There was only information in polish so we had to translate using our phones to understand the exhibition.

Ok first off museum is a giant stretch as it's 1 room with about 20 items. But oh my God the items and their history is chilling. If I ever have an ancestor scorch me with hellfire I am going to go insane! Definitely visit it especially in opposition to the Vatican museums which are one of the WORST experiences in rome

The Museo delle Anime del Purgatorio (Italian for Museum of the Souls of Purgatory) is a museum of Rome (Italy), in 12 Lungotevere Prati, within the vestry of the Chiesa del Sacro Cuore del Suffragio. The story is that In 1897 a fire burned a chapel of the priest Victor Jouët saw on the wall behind the altar the image of a human face bearing a sad and melancholy expression, impressed by the flames. He believed that the soul of a deceased man, condemned to Purgatory, had tried to get in contact with living people, so in the church you can see some artefacts that are supposed to be proof of this. Also you can say some prayers maybe some soul will hear you..

If you have a devotion to the Holy Soul, take the time to find this beautiful Church and tiny museum. So glad I finally got to experience it

Paranormal Christian relics. Very small but worth a pop in

Never answer the phone. Can't even leave a voicemail. Went by visiting the website for hours opened but it was locked up and only showed Mass times for the Church.

Tourists often miss out on the hidden gems. One of these, and possibly one of the most unique and interesting of the Eternal City's "hidden museums," is inside the Chiesa Sacro Cuore di Gesù. It is the century old Museo del Purgatorio (Museum of the Holy Souls in Purgatory). Actually, I was hoping to see more; when, in fact, it is just one small room with one display case filled with weird things. It is said to hold artifacts that have been burned by the hands of souls in purgatory. The collection was instigated by a French missionary priest, Father Jouet. During a fire that destroyed a portion of the church and a painting of Our Lady of the Rosary, people were said to have seen the face of a man in the flames who was believed to be a trapped soul. Father Jouet saw this as a sign that purgatory existed. Whether you believe in purgatory or not, it's worth taking the time to visit the church and seeing this unusual exhibition. Admission is free, but they do appreciate donations. Do make sure that the church is open. It took us 2 visits to see this little museum!

This is an obscure collection of artifacts on display in a single room, located next to the church in the vestry. The admission is free of charge - you just ask for directions to the room and take a look at what's there. 4 stars for this enigmatical place! There are documents and photos, like the photo of an imprint of a deceased on the sleeve of clothing from 1789 in Wodecq, Belgium, or the imprint of Palmira Rastelli's three fingers on the prayer book from 1871. HISTORY Afterlife, when deceased are stuck in Purgatory because of their sins, they try to catch attention of those alive to ask for forgiveness and prayers, in attempting to facilitate their transition to Paradise. The chapel of the church, Chiesa del Sacro Cuore del Suffragio, had burned in a fire in 1897. Victor Jouët, who was the priest at the church, saw the image of a human face on the wall behind the altar, imprinted by the flames. That image, naturally, looked to him as a sad face of a sufferer. According to his religious beliefs, it was the soul of a deceased man, condemned to Purgatory, trying to get in contact with the living. And that is how this museum had started. The priest decided to search for testimonials of the appearances of the souls of Purgatory, and to collect them in a museum close to the church.

When I was in Italy I googled something like "weird stuff to do in Rome" or something like that at I actually went to many of the things on that list lol. The Purgatory Museum really isn't a museum. There's a church and inside you ask a priest or person working there that you want to see the museum and they will show you. When you see it you wouldn't think of it as a museum because honestly, you would walk right past it. They basically have around 20 things hung up that are really creepy. Things like burnt hand prints on bibles, hand prints on pillows, etc. The stories are actually quite interesting. People who died who maybe lost faith or whatnot reaching out for people to pray for them. I don't personally believe in any of this as I'm Jewish but it's still a bit eerie to me but then again most things related to Catholicism kind of are. I stayed near Trevi Fountain and walked (although got lost mind you). It was a bit of a long walk, but flat and scenic as you walk along the Tiber and see different monuments in Rome on the way. The people I met working there were pretty friendly and seemed happy that someone asked about the museum as I don't think they get many people coming in asking about it. One asked where I was from and when I said California, he got all happy and kept singing songs about California lol.... Anyway this is a little bit out of the way via public transportation (at least I think so anyway), but it was something to see and FREE!!!. I really cannot see anyone viewing this for more than 20 minutes. They do have a laminated paper explaining what each picture/artifact is telling the story which is like less than a paragraph long. If you have some free time in Rome to do something fast, or want to do something different, I would check it out.