The Mystery of Mary’s Final Days

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we wish to pause together and contemplate one of the most fascinating and most meditated-upon mysteries of the Christian tradition: the mystery of the final days of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God. Throughout the centuries, Christians have asked themselves how her passage from this life to the glory of Heaven took place, and whether the Mother of Jesus experienced death as every other human being or was taken up directly, body and soul, without knowing the corruption of the grave.

This question, far from being a mere historical curiosity, has given rise to profound theological and spiritual reflections, for it touches the very heart of our faith in the resurrection and in eternal life. Some of the Church Fathers and theologians have maintained that Mary, although conceived without original sin and thus preserved from the stain that burdens every human being, nonetheless chose to share to the fullest the destiny of redeemed humanity by undergoing the experience of natural death.

They remind us that Christ Himself, though sinless, willed to face death in order to conquer it and open for all of us the way to resurrection; consequently, Mary, united intimately with her Son in His passion and glorification, would also have passed through this mysterious “door” that leads into immortality.

Other authors, however, have held that death—being the consequence of sin—could in no way touch the one who is the Immaculate, and that therefore Mary was assumed into Heaven without undergoing the separation of soul and body.

In this perspective, the Assumption of Mary becomes the anticipation of what God will grant to all redeemed humanity at the end of time: the glorious transformation of our body into an incorruptible body, ready for eternal life.

The Church, in her magisterium, has guarded this mystery with great delicacy. When in 1950 Pope Pius XII solemnly proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption, the dogmatic definition simply declared that “the Immaculate, ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory,” without specifying whether this occurred after death or through a direct passage.

This choice, far from being accidental, leaves open the possibility of both interpretations, inviting the faithful to contemplate the mystery rather than attempting to resolve it with mere rational speculation.

Ancient Church traditions, transmitted both in the East and in the West, recount that Mary spent the years following the Ascension of Jesus in prayer and communion with the Apostles. According to some sources, she followed the apostle John to Ephesus, in Asia Minor, where today there is a small shrine known as the “House of Mary,” a destination for pilgrims, both Christians and Muslims. However, archaeological studies indicate that the present chapel dates to the sixth century and therefore does not provide conclusive historical proof that Mary spent her final days there.

Another very ancient tradition instead places the location of her “passing” in Jerusalem. In the Kidron Valley, the Basilica of the Dormition and the tomb venerated by the Eastern Church as the Tomb of Mary speak to us of an age-old devotion that unites the faith of Christians across centuries. Some apocryphal texts, such as the well-known Transitus Mariae, recount that the Apostles gathered around Mary’s bed, witnessed her death, and saw her body carried to Heaven by angels. These writings, though not part of Sacred Scripture, have nourished the piety of the faithful and offer a powerful image of Mary’s triumph over death.

Not even Mary’s exact age at the time of her passing is known with certainty: some traditions suggest she may have been around fifty years old, but these are only pious traditions without definitive historical confirmation. What is certain, however, is that the Mother of God, at the conclusion of her earthly life, was fully associated with the Paschal victory of Christ, thus becoming a sign of hope and a foretaste of the glorious destiny awaiting all who die in God’s grace.

Ultimately, Mary’s final days remain veiled in mystery, which the Church invites us to contemplate with faith rather than investigate with mere historical curiosity.

What matters for us believers is not so much to determine whether Mary experienced death or a mystical sleep, but to recognize that she now lives and intercedes for us in heavenly glory, as Queen of Angels and Mother of the Church. By looking to her, we learn to accept with trust even the moment of our own death, certain that whoever follows Christ will share in His resurrection.

Let us therefore entrust our lives to Mary, asking her to accompany us with her intercession and to obtain for us the grace of one day being welcomed with her and with all the saints into eternal joy.