Assumption Day 2025 and 2026
Portuguese Catholics celebrate The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary every 15 August, and this date is an official public holiday throughout Portugal.
| Year | Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 15 Aug | Fri | Assumption Day |
| 2026 | 15 Aug | Sat | Assumption Day |
| Please scroll down to end of page for previous years' dates. | |||
There are special masses in Roman Catholic churches all across Portugal, with liturgical readings and sermons focused on Mary, her life, and her being taken up (assumed) in to Heaven.
Pope Pius XVII declared in 1950 that Mary’s body being assumed “at the end of her life” is official church dogma. But it is not defined whether or not she first died and was resurrected or if she went up to Heaven without ever dying.
In rural areas of Portugal, there are many elaborate religious processions on Assumption Day, while in the cities, it tends to be a less explicitly religious off-work day.
Previous Years
| Year | Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 15 Aug | Thu | Assumption Day |
| 2023 | 15 Aug | Tue | Assumption Day |