Where is the tomb of the Virgin Mary?

According to tradition, the body of the Virgin was carried, in procession, by the Apostles to a tomb and there she was elevated body and soul to heaven. This festival is celebrated every August 15. But where is this tomb?

The churches and the tomb

On Mount Zion, in Jerusalem, there is the Dormition Churchwhere it is said that the Virgin at the end of her life passed through the transit or dormancy.

Then the apostles would have taken his body to a tomb, where a temple was later built, currently run by Greek-Orthodox and Armenian Christians. This is the Church of the Sepulcher of Mary.

According to the Custody of the Holy Landfor a time the minor friars were the sole owners of the premises, but they were expelled in 1757.

Furthermore, the feast of the Assumption is the only day of the year that the Franciscans can officially enter in procession to see the site of Mary’s tomb.

On this date, the Custos of the Holy Land along with his Franciscan brothers also enter the aedicule (small place) where the sacred rock is located on which it is considered that the Apostles laid the body of the Virgin, and which is preserved to this day.

Unofficially, all Catholic tourists can enter to see Mary’s tomb. This is the second empty tomb venerated in Jerusalem; The first is that in which Christ was resurrected.

The lost tomb of Mary in Ephesus

There is another tradition that indicates that Mary’s tomb would be in EphesusTurkey, where Christian writers point out that the Apostle Saint John went to live, who was left in charge of the Virgin. It is said that the evangelist buried the Mother of God in an unknown place.

In the 19th century they found the ruins of a housewhich coincided with the mystical visions of Blessed Anne Catherine of Emmerick about the home of the Virgin. Currently it is a Marian sanctuary recognized by various popes with the name of House of Mother Mary. The supposed tomb in this city remains unlocated.

What Catholics believe

All the stories of what happened to the Virgin before and after her dormancy or death are based on apocryphal texts, tradition and stories of some saints. Likewise, it has not yet been defined in the Catholic Church whether the Mother of God died or just fell asleep.

However, the only thing that all Catholics are completely certain of, by dogma of faithis that the Virgin was assumed (taken) to heaven in body and soul, and that she lives there together with Christ, alive and glorified.

Originally published in 2023. It has been adapted with some historical data added for republication.