Assumption of Mary

What it is

The Assumption is the belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken into heaven body and soul when her earthly life ended. The Catholic Church teaches this as a dogma, a belief that must be held. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in a document called Munificentissimus Deus. The definition does not settle whether Mary died before she was taken up, and that question is left open. The English word comes from the Latin assūmptiō, meaning a taking up. Orthodox Christians speak instead of the Dormition, or falling asleep, of the Mother of God.

Origins and history

Accounts of Mary's end survive in texts the Church did not put in the Bible, and scholars date them differently. Stephen J. Shoemaker places the Book of Mary's Repose and the Six Books Dormition Apocryphon in the second, third or fourth century, while Maximilian Bonnet, Jean Rivière and Jean Gribomont put such narratives in the fourth century or earlier. The New Testament says nothing about her death. Epiphanius of Salamis, writing late in the fourth century, found no settled tradition and listed three views: a peaceful death, death as a martyr, or no death. The feast was being kept by the fifth century, and the emperor Maurice fixed it at 15 August in Constantinople around 600.

How it is kept

The Assumption is kept on 15 August by the Catholic Church and by many Anglican and Lutheran churches, the latter calling it the Feast of St. Mary. Orthodox Christians keep the Dormition on the same day. In German-speaking lands and in some Slavic countries, Poland among them, people bring herbs to be blessed. Those herbs are thought to hold their essential oils most strongly at this season, and the custom is linked to images of Mary as vine, lavender, cypress and lily. The season running to 8 September, the Nativity of Mary, is known as the Frauendreißiger, roughly the thirty days of Our Lady.

What it means

Pope Pius XII wrote that he hoped belief in the Assumption would strengthen belief in resurrection and make it more effective. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes it as a singular share in her Son's resurrection and a foretaste of the resurrection of other Christians. In 1950 the psychologist Carl Jung called the proclamation the most important religious event since the Reformation. Older stories add a scene that later painters often showed: the apostle Thomas arrives after Mary's death, the tomb is opened and found empty except for her grave clothes, and she lets her girdle fall down to him from heaven.

How Assumption of Mary is kept

Catholics keep 15 August as the Solemnity of the Assumption, and in many places the day includes a procession; Rome fixed a procession for the feast as early as the seventh century. Anglican and Lutheran churches hold their own observances under various titles on the same date. Orthodox Christians keep the Dormition. In parts of German-speaking Europe and in some Slavic countries such as Poland, people gather herbs and bring them to be blessed, then take them home. Luxembourg counts the observance as intangible cultural heritage.

When and where

The feast falls on 15 August every year, and the date is fixed, not movable. It was decreed for Constantinople by the emperor Maurice in 600 and reached Rome about fifty years later. Armenian Apostolic Christians keep it on the Sunday nearest 15 August; the Coptic, Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox churches keep it on 22 August.

The Assumption is kept across the Catholic world and by Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches. Its strongest local customs are in German-speaking Europe and in Slavic countries such as Poland, where herbs are blessed, and in Luxembourg, where the observance is listed as intangible cultural heritage. Parishes elsewhere keep the day with processions and services.

What Assumption of Mary means

For those who keep it, the feast says that what happened to Mary will happen to others. The Catechism calls it a share in her Son's resurrection and a foretaste of the resurrection of Christians. Bishops at the 1950 definition pointed to Genesis, where God tells the serpent that the woman's offspring will strike its head. Since the early Church Fathers, the image in Revelation of a woman clothed with the sun, the moon beneath her feet, has been read in three ways: as Israel, as the Church and as Mary.

Assumption of Mary dates: 2026, 2027, 2028

Questions people ask about Assumption of Mary

See also

CandlemasA Christian feast of candle blessings marking the end of the Christmas seasonPresentation of Jesus at the TempleA February feast of candles and welcome, kept forty days after ChristmasDancing procession of EchternachA Roman Catholic hopping pilgrimage honouring Saint Willibrord in eastern LuxembourgZaduszkiA Polish day of prayer for the dead on 2 November, kept with candles at the graves

Good reading and sources

• Assumption of Mary on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.