Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Dormition of the Theotokos

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, according to the Christian beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of Anglicanism, teaches that the body of the Virgin Mary was taken up into Heaven at the end of her earthly life.

According to Pope Pius XII in this dogmatic and infallibly definition (in union with the Bishops) in “Munificentissimus Deus” the Virgin Mary “having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.” While Catholic dogma leaves open the question of Mary’s death before rising to Heaven, the Eastern Orthodox tradition of the Dormition of the Theotokos teaches that Mary died and then rose to Heaven. In the churches that observe it, the Assumption is a major feast day, commonly celebrated on August 15. In many Catholic countries, the feast is also marked as a Holy Day of Obligation.