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Dear catholic.com visitors: This Catholic Answers website, with all its free resources, is the world’s largest source of explanations for Catholic beliefs and practices. We receive no funding from the institutional Church and rely entirely on your generosity to sustain this website with trustworthy, accessible content. If every visitor this month donated $1, catholic.com would be fully funded for an entire year. If you’ve never made a gift, now is the time. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar this week only. Thanks and God bless.

Is there anyone whom we know for certain is in hell already?

Question:

Is there anyone whom we know for certain is in hell already?

Answer:

Satan and the fallen angels are certainly there—or will be on the last day (cf. CCC 392–93). As for human beings, Scripture implies that some will not be saved (Matt. 7:13–14), but it has not been given to us to know in this life who has not found salvation. Indeed, in union with God who desires the salvation of all men (1 Tim. 2:3–4), the Church prays for all who have died and hopes for the salvation of each person individually (CCC 1821).

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