Let’s look at the Nicene Creed and the Apostle’s Creed side-by-side for a moment:

Nicene Creed Apostles’ Creed
he suffered death and was buried, was crucified, died and was buried;
passus et sepúltus est, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus,
  he descended into hell;
  descendit ad inferos,
and rose again on the third day on the third day he rose again from the dead;
et resurréxit tértia die, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis,

The central mystery of our faith is this: Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God become Man, not only died, but he rose from the dead. But there is so much that happened in between, too! While the Nicene (technically, the Niceno-Constantinopolitan) Creed doesn’t mention this, the Apostle’s Creed reminds us that “he descended into hell”.

This descent into hell is a part of the Easter story we do not often hear. The Catechism tells us that Jesus “sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his resurrection,” but he did so “as Savior” (CCC 632) and preached the Good News while there. (1 Peter 3:19)

Some might wonder if this means that he visited all those souls condemned to eternal punishment, whether he freed the demons condemned to hell, and that type of thing. He did not. We use the word Hell in English to refer to the place of the dead. This place includes all who are dead, both those who were considered righteous and just, such as St. Joseph, and those who were considered evil. We see this place of the dead is divided even in our Lord’s preaching, in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus who were separated by a great and impassible chasm.

When Christ descended into Hell, he freed the souls of the just and led them to the gates of Heaven. This had effects in Jerusalem: “But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit. And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.” (Matthew 27:50-53) They were seen in Jerusalem as an visible sign of the spiritual reality: they had been freed from the vice-grip of death so that they could enter the Heavenly Jerusalem. This is the fate that awaits all of us who follow Christ.

Next week, I’m hoping to talk a little bit more about this descent into Hell, Holy Saturday, and then–if there’s space–to begin pondering the Resurrection of Christ!