Older Irish Catholics remember a metaphysical space or place called Limbo. This was the destination of unbaptized infants. They could never enter Heaven because the stain of original sin had not been removed. In addition, they were denied burial in consecrated ground. Fear of such eventualities drove parents to baptize as soon as possible. Nor was this a purely Irish phenomenon. In emergency cases, even baptism in utero was permitted in some parts of Catholic Europe. The centerpiece of this study is the testimonies of Irish mothers and their remembrances of the perils of Limbo, the disposal of infant corpses (in cillíní), and “churching.” Why belief in Limbo has become almost extinct in recent decades is explored, drawing on both demand and supply side explanations. More generally, considerations of Limbo, the unbaptized, and the afterlife give rise to challenging questions as to secularization and even the definition of childhood.

较年长的爱尔兰天主教徒记得一个叫做Limbo的形而上空间或地方。这是未受洗婴儿的目的地。他们永远无法进入天堂，因为原罪的污点没有被清除。此外，他们被拒绝在圣地埋葬。对此类事件的恐惧驱使父母尽快接受洗礼。这也不是纯粹的爱尔兰现象。在紧急情况下，欧洲天主教的某些地区甚至允许在子宫内洗礼。这项研究的核心是爱尔兰母亲的证词，以及他们对Limbo的危险，婴儿尸体的处置（在cillíní）和“教会”。根据需求和供给方面的解释，探讨了为什么对Limbo的信仰在最近几十年几乎灭绝。更普遍地讲，对Limbo，未受洗者和来世的考虑引起了关于世俗化甚至儿童期定义的挑战性问题。