By Clement Harrold
August 14, 2025
In the jubilee year of 1950, on the feast of All Saints, Pope Pius XII released the apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus (The Most Bountiful God) which formally defined the dogma of Our Lady’s Assumption. The English word “Assumption” comes from the Latin noun assūmptiō, meaning “taking up.”
Writing just five years after the conclusion of World War II, Pope Pius observed that “it is in our own age that the privilege of the bodily Assumption into heaven of Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, has certainly shone forth more clearly” (#3). The pontiff went on to infallibly declare 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” (#44).
In this post we’ll explore some of the reasons for Pope Pius reaching the conclusion he did, as well as some of the lessons the Assumption of Mary holds for our daily lives today.
The Reasonableness of the Assumption
Protestants often object to the doctrine of the Assumption on the grounds that it never appears explicitly in Sacred Scripture, and even many Catholics might wrestle with this fact. It is important to recognize, however, that there is nothing in Scripture which contradicts the Assumption. We know, too, that many of the pivotal moments in the life of Our Lord and His mother—for example, the death of St. Joseph—are not recorded in Scripture (see John 21:25).
Equally important is the fact that Sacred Scripture never claims that it is the only source of divine truth. Catholics therefore reject the Protestant doctrine of sola scriptura, which regards the Bible as the sole infallible rule of faith, as being itself unbiblical. Together with the Orthodox Churches, Catholics instead see an essential role for Sacred Tradition.
Sacred Tradition is what helps us accurately identify Scripture in the first place; it’s what provides us with a reliable interpretation of Scripture in every age; and it’s what allows us to discover those truths about the faith which can be inferred from Scripture, even if they aren’t explicitly described in Scripture. The Assumption is one such truth.
From a Catholic perspective, therefore, there are a number of data points which render the dogma of the Assumption at least possible, if not quite plausible:
- Mary is the holiest and most exalted human being in history, second only to Our Lord.
- There are other Scriptural examples of people being assumed into heaven.
- There are no relics of Our Lady in the early Church.
- For well over a thousand years the main body of Christian believers has accepted the truth of the Assumption.
- The doctrine of the Assumption fits powerfully and beautifully with the rest of Sacred Scripture.
Taken together, these points help establish that the Assumption is neither unreasonable nor outlandish. It is true that Christians who subscribe to sola scriptura are forced to reject the Assumption. But for believers who follow the majority report of the Christian tradition (both Catholic and Orthodox) in regarding sola scriptura as silly, the Assumption remains a perfectly reasonable doctrine.
From a biblical perspective, the Assumption is not an unprecedented event; figures such as Enoch, Elijah, and possibly Moses also appear to have been assumed into heaven.
From a historical perspective, the lack of first class relics of Mary in the early Church raises an obvious question: What happened to her body? There are a couple of tombs attributed to her, but the tombs are empty. Given that the early Church very quickly recognized the immense honor owed to Our Lady, it’s odd that we do not possess any of her earthly remains.
From an ecclesial perspective, the fact that the apostolic Churches have accepted the truth of the Assumption for a really long time is significant. And while the earliest Church Fathers don’t comment on the Assumption one way or another, the doctrine begins to be discussed favorably from at least the 300s A.D.
When the dogma of the Assumption was finally defined by Pius XII in 1950, it came as the culmination of a process of ecclesial discernment lasting over a millennium, and the pope’s decision enjoyed the explicit support of the vast majority of the Church’s bishops and laity. These facts suggest that the development of this remarkable doctrine is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
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The Fittingness of the Assumption
So far we’ve discussed a number of points which establish the reasonableness of the Assumption, but we haven’t yet commented on our fifth data point listed above: The doctrine of the Assumption fits powerfully and beautifully with the rest of Sacred Scripture.
To see how this is the case, we need to recall the extraordinarily unique role Our Lady is called to play in salvation history. She is, of course, the mother of the God-man, the one on whose “yes” the redemption of all creation rests. As we explained in a previous post:
According to the New Testament, Mary is the one whose perfect submission to the will of God helps undo the sin of Eve (see Lk 1:38), the one who is filled with grace (see Lk 1:28), the one who is overshadowed by the Holy Spirit (see Lk 1:34), the one who is most blessed among women (see Lk 1:42), the one whom all generations will call blessed (see Lk 1:48), the one whose maternal intercession moves Jesus to begin His ministry of miracles (see Jn 2:5), the one whom Jesus entrusts to His most cherished disciple (see Jn 19:27), and the one who is portrayed as a spiritual mother to all believers (see Rev 12:17).
From a biblical standpoint, Mary is the Mother of God (see Lk 1:43) and the new Ark of the Covenant who earns the wrath of Satan (see Rev 11:19-12:1,17). She is present, moreover, at all the crucial moments in the gestation of the Church: the Incarnation, the birth of Christ, the crucifixion (see Jn 19:25-27), and Pentecost (see Acts 1:14). In short, our Blessed Mother receives a far more elevated status than any other human figure in Sacred Scripture; and as such, she ought to be appreciated and celebrated by all Christians.
These observations provide crucial context for understanding why the Assumption makes so much sense. Three aspects in particular bear emphasizing: Mary’s Immaculate Conception; her status as the new Ark of the Covenant; and her status as the new Eve.
In her Immaculate Conception, Mary was conceived free from any stain of sin. This is alluded to in the angel Gabriel’s greeting to her: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28). Pope Pius explains the intimate connection between Mary’s Immaculate Conception and her Assumption:
. . . These two privileges are most closely bound to one another. Christ overcame sin and death by his own death, and one who through Baptism has been born again in a supernatural way has conquered sin and death through the same Christ. Yet, according to the general rule, God does not will to grant to the just the full effect of the victory over death until the end of time has come. And so it is that the bodies of even the just are corrupted after death, and only on the last day will they be joined, each to its own glorious soul.
Now God has willed that the Blessed Virgin Mary should be exempted from this general rule. She, by an entirely unique privilege, completely overcame sin by her Immaculate Conception, and as a result she was not subject to the law of remaining in the corruption of the grave, and she did not have to wait until the end of time for the redemption of her body. (Munificentissimus Deus, #4-5)
If Mary’s Immaculate Conception points forward to Our Lady’s Assumption, so too does her status as the new Ark of the Covenant. This status is highlighted in the Gospels and in the book of Revelation, and it is attested to by Church Fathers such as St. Ambrose and St. Athanasius.
By virtue of the Incarnation, Mary became for nine months a living tabernacle, a new and greater Ark of the Covenant containing God Himself within her womb. Pope Pius quotes St. Robert Bellarmine, who rightly balks at the idea of this spotless tabernacle undergoing the corruption of the grave:
And who, I ask, could believe that the ark of holiness, the dwelling place of the Word of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit, could be reduced to ruin? My soul is filled with horror at the thought that this virginal flesh which had begotten God, had brought him into the world, had nourished and carried him, could have been turned into ashes or given over to be food for worms. (see Munificentissimus Deus, #34, citing St. Robert Bellarmine)
In the Church’s tradition, Psalm 132:8 has sometimes been read as a mystical expression of the truth of Mary’s Assumption: “Arise, O Lord, and go to thy resting place, thou and the ark of thy might.”
The third characteristic of Our Lady which sheds light on her Assumption is her status as the new Eve. This identification is made extremely early in Church history. Consider what St. Irenaeus wrote around the year 180 A.D.:
But Eve was disobedient; for she did not obey when as yet she was a virgin. . . . [S]o also did Mary, having a man betrothed [to her], and being nevertheless a virgin, by yielding obedience, become the cause of salvation, both to herself and the whole human race. . . . And thus also it was that the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith. (Against Heresies, 3.22.4)
Mary is the new Eve who assists Jesus, the new Adam, in His redemption of the world. She is bone of His bones and flesh of His flesh (see Gen 2:23), a sharer in His DNA and in His salvific mission. Pius XII describes her as “the noble associate of the divine Redeemer who has won a complete triumph over sin and its consequences” (#40).
In order for the new Adam’s triumph over sin and death to be complete, it was fitting that the new Eve should share in His triumph. Hence Mary was preserved not only from original and personal sin, but even from the corruption which follows death. Mary’s Assumption thus becomes, in imitation of the Resurrection of her divine Son, a first fruit of the glory which awaits our mortal bodies (see 1 Cor 15:20-23). In other words, it is not only the new Adam but also his mystical bride, the new Eve, who together have transformed physical death into a pathway to eternal life, paving the way for all believers.
Last but not least, the Assumption marvellously underscores the totality of Christ’s victory over the devil. Whereas the first Eve brought death into the world by obeying the voice of the serpent, the new Eve brought life into the world by obeying the voice of God. Her “yes” made Calvary possible, whereby the Son of God gave His life as a ransom for many and plundered the strongholds of the devil.
Confronted with the radiant purity of the humble maiden of Nazareth, the evil one realized to his shame the true power of the Cross of Christ which has removed the sting of death and robbed hell of its victory. In her glorious Assumption, the halls of heaven rejoiced in the victory over the Satan which the Scriptures had prophesied long ago: “The Lord struck him down by the hand of a woman!” (Judith 13:15; cf. Gen 3:15).
The Assumption Teaches Us Hope
We can close these reflections with a brief reflection on what the Assumption teaches us today. The Mass for the Solemnity of the Assumption contains a beautiful preface:
For today the Virgin Mother of God
was assumed into heaven
as the beginning and image
of your Church’s coming to perfection
and a sign of sure hope and comfort to your pilgrim people;
rightly you would not allow her
to see the corruption of the tomb
since from her own body she marvellously brought forth
your incarnate Son, the Author of all life.
This prayer highlights the intimate connection between this mystery and the virtue of hope. In a world where hope is so often absent, the Assumption of Mary teaches us to fix our eyes on the things above (see Col 3:2).
The Assumption reminds us of the truth of the Resurrection: the truth that death is not the end, that sickness and grief do not have the last word, and that the redemption which awaits us is one which includes our mortal bodies (see Rom 8:23). In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians” (#966).
The Assumption gives us hope, too, that victory over sin is possible; and that personal holiness and purity of heart are not impossible ideals but rather attainable virtues which are awesome to behold. Finally, the Assumption gives us hope that, in all our trials, we have a sinless and powerful Mother who intercedes tirelessly for us to arrive safely home in heaven.
We close, then, with Pope Pius XII’s own prophetic description of the wonderful spiritual fruits which the dogma of the Assumption would bring to the Church and to the world:
We . . . are confident that this solemn proclamation and definition of the Assumption will contribute in no small way to the advantage of human society, since it redounds to the glory of the Most Blessed Trinity, to which the Blessed Mother of God is bound by such singular bonds. It is to be hoped that all the faithful will be stirred up to a stronger piety toward their heavenly Mother, and that the souls of all those who glory in the Christian name may be moved by the desire of sharing in the unity of Jesus Christ’s Mystical Body and of increasing their love for her who shows her motherly heart to all the members of this august body. And so we may hope that those who meditate upon the glorious example Mary offers us may be more and more convinced of the value of a human life entirely devoted to carrying out the heavenly Father’s will and to bringing good to others. Thus, while the illusory teachings of materialism and the corruption of morals that follows from these teachings threaten to extinguish the light of virtue and to ruin the lives of men by exciting discord among them, in this magnificent way all may see clearly to what a lofty goal our bodies and souls are destined. Finally it is our hope that belief in Mary’s bodily Assumption into heaven will make our belief in our own resurrection stronger and render it more effective. (Munificentissimus Deus, #42)
Further Reading
Scott Hahn, Hail, Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God (Image, 2006)
John Paul II, Redemptoris Mater (1987)
Brant Pitre, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary: Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah (Image, 2018)
Joseph Ratzinger, Daughter Zion: Meditations on the Church's Marian Belief (Ignatius Press, 1983)
Tim Staples, Behold Your Mother: A Biblical and Historical Defense of the Marian Doctrines (Catholic Answers Press, 2017)
About Clement Harrold
Clement Harrold earned his master’s degree in theology from the University of Notre Dame in 2024, and his bachelor’s from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2021. His writings have appeared in First Things, Church Life Journal, Crisis Magazine, and the Washington Examiner.
