Seventh-century Irish missionary St Fursey was well known for a vision of the afterlife, in which he was subjected to a barrage of of accusations from demons like so many lawyers. They demanded that God punish Fursey for his sins, only for two angels to leap to his defence, and dismiss all charges out of hand.

After his vision of the afterlife and God’s merciful judgment, he was sent back to earth to convince Christians to be confident of forgiveness, yet always to repent since unrepentance alone disqualifies the soul from blessedness. Fursey’s visions made a great impression on his near-contemporary, St Bede, who recommended others to read the saint’s life.

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