ASK FATHER CHAS - EP1
Did Mary Die?
That's a fantastic question, because the church has actually never definitively declared whether Mary suffered death or not.
What the church has definitively declared is the dogma of the Assumption of Mary, body and soul, into heaven in his apostolic constitution that defined the Assumption of Mary, called Mooney Vincent Deus, the Pope Pius the 12th said this The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.
So while the Assumption has been definitively declared, what the Church has not unambiguously declared is whether or not mama Mary actually suffered death. A number of the fathers of the Church did not have any issue with saying that Mary died. And remember, Jesus himself suffered death. So one could say that Mary died in the sense that there was a point in which she breathed her last breath, just like Jesus did, which would be fitting.
Why? Because Mary, as the perfect disciple, conformed her life according to the pattern of Christ. Her son, who suffered, died, and rose again. I think the only reason that saying Mary died is a little bit problematic is because, as you alluded to in your question, the theological definition of death is the separation of soul and body.
And so since Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven, instead of saying Mary died, I prefer to avoid confusion and just prefer the ancient tradition of referring to the end of Mary's life as the Dormition of Mary, meaning that her passing away was a falling asleep, breathing her last breath, and thus completing the course of her earthly life before being assumed body and soul into heaven. And where mama Mary goes, her kids follow. God bless you.
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