Unlike the other saints who’s bodies will not join their souls in Heaven until the Second Coming of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary’s body was immediately taken up into Heaven along with her soul at the end of her existence on Earth.
The Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Churches refer to this event as the Dormition of Mary or the Dormition of the Virgin.
Mary’s Assumption into Heaven was not by her own power, but by the power of God. This was different from Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven which happened by his own divine power
Because Mary’s body is in Heaven, no church or other holy place claims to possess it, and no grave or tomb exists that contains her remains.
Although the Catholic Church has always believed and taught that the Immaculate Mother of God was assumed into Heaven, it was not infallibly defined as a dogma of the Church until 1950 by Pope Pius XII.
Catholics meditate on the Virgin Mary’s Assumption into Heaven as the fourth Glorious Mystery of the Holy Rosary.
The Church celebrates The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15 each year, a holy day of obligation for Catholics.
When the fullness of Mary’s time was completed:
God remembers his faithful:
Then God’s temple in Heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm. And a great portent appeared in Heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
Revelation 11:19-12:1
Mary’s body and soul were taken up into Heaven:
Jesus will take all of those He loves into Heaven:
Mary’s Assumption into Heaven is proof of eternal life for humans:
“Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death.” The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians: In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death. . . . she is our Mother in the order of grace.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 966
Mary is an exception:
The new Eve experiences now what we hope to experience later:
The Bible supports the traditional belief in the Assumption of Mary:
The first among those redeemed by Christ’s paschal sacrifice, Mary shines forth today as Queen of us all, pilgrims on our way to immortal life. In her, assumed into Heaven, we are shown the eternal destiny that awaits us beyond the mystery of death: a destiny of total happiness in divine glory. This supernatural vision sustains our daily pilgrimage. Mary teaches about life. By looking at her, we understand better the relative value of earthly greatness and the full sense of our Christian vocation.
Pope John Paul II, Homily, 15 August 1997
Praying in the very place that Mary was assumed into Heaven:
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
Putting Jesus first:
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