Ask Fr Francis

There are two parts to this question. 1. How did Jesus’ death and resurrection save the people who died before Him? And 2. How did the people who died before Jesus, or died without knowing Jesus, come to be saved?

1. Although Jesus’ death occurred in time, his salvation is universal outside of time and space. Namely, the salvation He won for us on the Cross in a specific time and place in our history can be applied not only for the people who died after Him, but God can take that grace and equally apply it backward in time to all those who died before Him.

We see an example of that in Mary’s immaculate conception. She was conceived without original sin because God applied the graces of salvation outside of time on her, even though on our timeline salvation has not yet been obtained.

God can do this because God is not restricted in time or space, but indeed God made time and space; He is outside of time. All time: past present, future, are all to Him simultaneously in the eternal now.

2. On top of that, people before Jesus’ time, who were faithful to God, either the Jews who were faithful to the Abrahamic covenant and the Mosaic law, or those not at the fault of their own, but to the best of their ability faithful to God’s command through obedience to their informed conscience, were not outside of God’s mercy. Traditionally, the Church believes that these good souls though were prisoners of the devil, were not without hope, but wait patiently in a separate place called “limbo”, waiting for God’s promised salvation. It is for this that from the earliest time, the Church believed that Jesus right after dying on the Cross, went to hell to relieve these holy souls, first among which our first parents, Adam and Eve.