![Statue de la Vierge Marie à Lourdes. [Norbert SCANELLA / ONLY FRANCE / Only France via AFP]](/cdn-cgi/image/onerror=redirect,width=640,height=640,format=webp/https://storage.googleapis.com/uploads.mongoosehq.com/url/media/166490044/563461d4615f351534075081d49eee6d25212bbb481d5573004f89231589d58f)
Overview
- On Saturday, August 15, 2026, Catholics around the world observed the Assumption, a principal feast that commemorates the Virgin Mary’s entrance into the glory of God.
- Roughly 1.4 billion Catholics are counted among those who mark the day and major public rituals took place across Europe and beyond.
- The Sanctuary of Lourdes expected about 21,000 people for its 153rd national pilgrimage, a gathering led this year by Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco.
- The Vatican has issued a recent warning about some forms of popular Marian piety even as processions, candles and local devotions continue to grow.
- The feast’s public role rests on long history: the Assumption was defined as Catholic dogma in 1950 by Pope Pius XII and 15 August has been a French public holiday since King Louis XIII’s 1638 vow.