Vatican City, 15 August, 2020 / 12:10 pm (ACI Africa).
On the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Francis said that Mary’s assumption into Heaven was an infinitely greater achievement than man’s first steps on the moon.
“When man set foot on the moon, he said a phrase that became famous: ‘That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.’ In essence, humanity had reached a historic milestone. But today, in Mary’s Assumption into Heaven, we celebrate an infinitely greater achievement. Our Lady set foot in Heaven,” Pope Francis said Aug. 15.
“This step of the little Virgin of Nazareth was the giant leap forward of mankind,” the pope added.
Speaking from the window of the Vatican’s apostolic palace to the pilgrims spread out throughout St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said that in Mary’s assumption into Heaven, one sees life’s end goal: “not to gain the things here below, which are fleeting, but the patrimony above, which is forever.”
Catholics around the world celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Mary on Aug. 15. The feast commemorates the end of Mary’s earthly life when God assumed her, body and soul, into heaven.
