| Definition: The Assumption, Solemnity of |
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| We do not know anything about Mary's life after the day of Pentecost. Christian tradition holds that Mary spent the last years of her life in Ephesus (present-day Turkey) with the apostle John. There is also a Church in Jerusalem called the Church of the Dormition (meaning "falling asleep of Mary") at the legendary place of her death. In some parts of the Church there was once a commemoration of her death. Since the seventh century this celebration has been called the Assumption. In 1950 Pope Pius XII defined as a dogma of our faith that Mary was assumed into heaven "body and soul" without specifying whether or not Mary actually experienced a physical death. Her glorified status is a message to us about her son, Jesus. |
Source:
Youth Update Glossary
St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2002 |