MUNIFICENTISSIMUS DEUS. - Opening words of the apostolic constitution with which Pius XII defined (1 Nov. 1950) the dogma of the bodily Assumption of the Blessed Virgin into heaven (AAS, 42 [1950], pp. 754-71).
The notable document, characterized by a particularly organic structure, proceeds by a regressive method, tracing the present faith of the universal Church back to the sources of Revelation. The movement in favor of the Assumption, which arose immediately after the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (the two truths being closely connected), grew to such proportions as to induce the Supreme Pontiff to establish a commission for the theological deepening of the doctrine and to seek the opinion of the Catholic episcopate on the present faith of the whole Church (clergy and people). The response of the episcopate, morally unanimous in holding the bodily Assumption of the Virgin to be divinely revealed, is a sure argument that this doctrine is contained in the deposit of faith entrusted by Christ to the Church «to be religiously guarded and faithfully expounded» (Vatican Council, sess. IV, cap. 4: Denz-U, 1836). This faith has found various and progressive manifestations throughout the Church’s long history: a) temples, images, and acts of piety (the fourth glorious mystery of the Rosary); b) liturgical solemnities in East and West; c) testimonies of the Fathers (St. John Damascene, St. Germanus of Constantinople, the Encomium in dormitionem Deiparae); d) the teaching of theologians (Blessed Amadeus of Lausanne, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Albert the Great, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventure, St. Bernardino of Siena, St. Robert Bellarmine, St. Peter Canisius, St. Francis de Sales, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Suárez).
The ultimate foundation of this now universal faith, which slowly unfolded and was clarified by the Fathers and theologians, is Holy Scripture, in which is foreshadowed the total victory of Christ and of Mary over sin and its moral and physical consequences (cf. Gen 3:15; Rom 4:12; 5:14; 6:8; 1 Cor 15:21-26, 54-57). The Pope therefore judged that the moment had come to define what is so abundantly documented and deeply rooted in Christian consciousness, especially since this solemn act would bring great benefits to the Church and the world (greater devotion to Mary, the return of the erring to unity, a higher esteem for human life, victory over widespread materialistic errors, and a new argument for faith in the resurrection of the flesh). The bull concludes with the solemn definition.