What is the Assumption of Mary?

The Assumption of Mary is the Catholic dogma that at the end of her earthly life, the Blessed Virgin Mary was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. This was defined as infallible dogma by Pope Pius XII in 1950 in the apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus. The Assumption is celebrated on August 15 and is a Holy Day of Obligation. The Church has not officially defined whether Mary died before being assumed or was taken up without dying, though the majority tradition holds she did experience death. The Assumption is the logical consequence of Mary's Immaculate Conception — since she was preserved from original sin, and death's corruption is a consequence of sin, her body was preserved from decay. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates this as the Dormition (Falling Asleep) of the Theotokos.