Feast of the Assumption

Assumption of Mary
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The Assumption of the Virgin Mary has been a subject of veneration, doctrine and Catholic Marian art for centuries. This painting is by Rubens, 1626.

The Assumption of Mary is the traditional belief held by Christians of the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, some Protestant churches (including Lutherans and Anglo-Catholics), that the Virgin Mary at the end of her life was physically taken up into heaven. The Roman Catholic Church teaches as dogma that Mary, "having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory." This doctrine was dogmatically and infallibly defined by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950, in his Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus. This event is known as the Dormition by the Orthodox. In those denominations that observe it, the Assumption is a major festival, commonly celebrated on August 15. This is a Holy Day of Obligation in the Catholic Church.

In his August 15, 2004 homily given at Lourdes, Pope John Paul II quoted John 14:3 as a scriptural basis for understanding the dogma of the Assumption of Mary. In this verse, Jesus tells his disciples at the Last Supper, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also." According to Catholic theology, Mary is the pledge of the fulfillment of Christ's promise.