Pope at Angelus: Mary’s Assumption reveals our eternal destiny

By Vatican News

Pope Leo marked the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary by inviting the faithful to contemplate their ultimate destiny: the fullness of eternal life in God.

Addressing pilgrims gathered in Castel Gandolfo for his midday Angelus on Saturday, the Pope described the Assumption as a feast of great importance both for Catholic theology and for popular devotion.

He noted that the Solemnity is particularly cherished in communities whose cathedrals or parish churches are dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption.

The Dormition of the Mother of God

Pope Leo reflected on two principal ways in which artists have depicted the mystery of the Assumption over the centuries.

The first and oldest tradition portrays the Dormition, or “falling asleep”, of the Mother of God. In these images, Mary lies upon a catafalque, surrounded by the Apostles in prayer, while the risen Jesus holds her soul in His arms like a newborn child.

The image shows Christ coming to take His Mother into the glory of heaven, the Pope explained, fulfilling for her the promise He made to His disciples: “I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also”.

This ancient iconography highlights a central truth of the Christian faith: it is Christ, who died and rose again, who leads humanity towards the destiny for which it was created – eternal life.

Generations of believers have contemplated this mystery in icons of the Dormition, Pope Leo said, pointing in particular to the great apse mosaic in Rome’s Basilica of Saint Mary Major.

Assumed body and soul

A second artistic tradition, which developed later in the West, depicts Mary standing in heaven, surrounded by light, angels and saints.

At the centre is the glorified body of the Virgin, evoking the vision from the Book of Revelation of “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars”.

Some artists brought the two traditions together, portraying Mary in heavenly glory above an empty tomb filled with colourful flowers, as the Apostles look upwards.

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This second model, the Pope explained, emphasises that Mary was assumed into heaven both body and soul, “in the entirety of her person”.

The woman who gave flesh and blood to the Incarnate Word and followed Jesus to the point of complete union in His sacrifice of love was drawn by Him forever into glory.

An endless celebration

Pope Leo concluded by stressing that the Assumption also points towards the destiny awaiting all the faithful.

“The fullness of life, which we joyfully admire today in Mary, awaits us as well at the end of time”, he said.

Quoting Saint Paul, the Pope recalled that the risen Christ will transform humanity’s lowly bodies to be like His glorious body, clothing what is perishable with incorruptibility and what is mortal with immortality.

Then, he said, with human flesh transformed by the Redeemer’s love, the faithful will live forever “in an endless celebration”.

“Let us praise the Lord”, Pope Leo concluded, “who has done great things in His and our Most Holy Mother!”

Prayers for peace and earthquake victims

Following the Angelus, Pope Leo entrusted to Mary’s intercession all those in need of hope and consolation. He prayed especially for the peoples of the Holy Land, Ukraine and Russia, as well as for Christians suffering discrimination or persecution.

The Pope also renewed his prayers for the people of Colombia affected by the recent earthquake, inviting everyone to invoke together: “Holy Mary, pray for us!”