15 August: Assumption of the Virgin Mary into Heaven

“For which reason, after we have poured forth prayers of supplication again and again to God, and have invoked the light of the Spirit of Truth, for the glory of Almighty God who has lavished his special affection upon the Virgin Mary, for the honor of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages and the Victor over sin and death, for the increase of the glory of that same august Mother, and for the joy and exultation of the entire Church; by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory”.

With these words in the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus, of 1 November 1950, Pius XII defined the dogma of the Assumption of Mary into heaven in body and soul.

Pope Pacelli’s doctrinal declaration was the result of a long journey of faith, theological research and piety that spanned centuries. It was a reflection that also affected the Oriental Churches and spurred discussions on the dormition of the Mother of God, while in the West, many cathedrals were dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption.

Ever since ancient times in fact, a solemn liturgical feast, known as the Dormition and the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, is celebrated both in the East and in the West.

The Feast of the Assumption thus gained a place of honour among other Marian celebrations from the very beginning, and later became one of the most solemn celebrations of the entire liturgical year.

The date, 15 August, was chosen because of a tradition that was already in existence in Jerusalem that celebrated and paid homage to Mary, Mother of God, precisely on that day. At the beginning of the 6th century, the name of the Feast day celebrated on 15 August became known as the Assumption or Transit, and starting in the 8th century, the Dormition, as it is still called in the East.

The Assumption of Mary into Heaven is a sign of hope for all because our bodies are also destined for resurrection and glory in Christ.