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This holy day of obligation follows the tradition of recognizing Mary's death and resurrection. According to legend, when Mary was 73 years old and on her death bed, all the apostles except St. Thomas gathered with Mary as she passed on. When Thomas arrived he asked to see her body but the body was not there for it too had been resurrected.
While the apostles watched, a cloud descended over Mary and transported her body to Jerusalem. Meanwhile, the Angel Gabriel took her spirit to Heaven. Both her body and spirit were reunited once again in her tomb in the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
This holiday has been celebrated for many years by Christians. Some believe the date of August 15 was set to coincide with popular pagan harvest festivals of the time. It wasn't for many centuries of popular request, before Pope Pius XII declared Mary's assumption to be dogma or a fundamental belief of Catholics. This declaration occurred on November 1, 1950.
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