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Ordinary Time
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary / Dormition of the Theotokos
Also called: Dormition (Eastern), L'Assomption (French), Ferragosto (Italy), Mariä Himmelfahrt (German), Wniebowzięcie NMP (Polish), Asdvadzadzin (Armenian)
August 15 (fixed)
CatholicEastern OrthodoxAnglicanLutheran
On 15 August, Catholics and Orthodox Christians remember Mary, the mother of Jesus — Catholics celebrate her being taken up to heaven; Orthodox call it the Dormition (her 'falling asleep'). Mediterranean countries shut down for beach holidays; in Poland it is a public holiday called the Feast of the Assumption.
Pilgrims flock to Lourdes and Knock. Eden lists Marian pilgrimages to Lourdes, Fatima, and other shrines across Europe.
At a glance
- Type
- solemnity
- Date type
- Fixed (same date every year)
- Regions
- Global
- Themes
- Mary
- Liturgical colour
- White
- Holy Day of Obligation
- Yes (Catholic)
Common questions
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is observed on August 15 (fixed). Moveable feasts shift each year; fixed feasts stay on the same calendar date.
The feast marking the end of the earthly life of the Virgin Mary and her bodily taking up (assumption/dormition) into heaven. Catholic theology defines the Assumption as a dogma (defined 1950), while Eastern Orthodoxy speaks of the "Dormition" (falling asleep) and resurrection of Mary, emphasizing her death before glorification. In Italy, August 15 (Ferragosto) is a major national holiday — the he
It is associated with Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran. It falls in the Dormition Fast Orthodox, Ordinary Time season of the liturgical year.
Related holidays
- All Saints' DayNovember 1Read guide
- Nativity of St. John the BaptistJune 24 (exactly six months before Christmas; Luke 1:26 sets Gabriel's visit to Mary six months after Elizabeth's conception)Read guide
- Sts. Peter and PaulJune 29 (fixed)Read guide
- Christ the King22 November 2026 (semi-fixed)Read guide
