Transit and Burial of Mary
The altar was set up, in red and white, in front of the Cross in the oratory. Peter said Mass just as I had seen him do at the altar of Bethesda. Candles burned on the altar, but not the lamp. Mary remained seated on her bed during the rite, in silent recollection. Peter wore a red and white pallium and a large cope over his white sacerdotal vestment. The four apostles assisting him were dressed in their festive copes. After receiving Communion himself, Peter gave Communion to the others. During this moment, Philip arrived, coming from Egypt. Tearfully, he received Mary's blessing and then Holy Communion as well.
Peter brought Communion to the Virgin Mary on the cross hanging from the apostle's neck. John brought her the sacred chalice on a saucer. This chalice was small, white in color, as if molded, and resembled the one from the Last Supper. Its stem was so short that it could only be held with two fingers. Thaddeus brought a small censer. First, Peter gave the Virgin Extreme Unction, performing it as it is done today. Then he gave her Holy Communion, which Mary received sitting upright on her bed without support. Afterwards, she lay back, and after a brief prayer by the apostles, she received the chalice from John's hands, sitting up somewhat on her bed, though not as much as when she received Communion under the appearance of bread. After Communion, Mary spoke no more. Her face was turned upward, beautiful and fresh, as in her youth. I could not see the ceiling of her room; the lamp hung in mid-air. A path of light opened from Mary toward the heavenly Jerusalem and up to the throne of the Most Holy Trinity. On both sides of this luminous path were the faces of countless angels. Mary raised her arms toward the heavenly Jerusalem, and her body rose so high above the bed that I could clearly see everything beneath it. A radiant figure seemed to emerge from that body, reaching its arms toward the heights. The two choirs of angels closed beneath that halo of light and ascended behind Mary's soul, which had separated from her body. Her body leaned gently, with arms crossed over her chest, upon the bed where her mysterious transit took place. Many souls of saints, several of whom I recognized, came to meet her. There were Joseph, Anne, Joachim, John the Baptist, Zechariah, and Elizabeth. Mary ascended among these souls to meet her divine Son, whose wounds shone brighter than light, enveloping everything. Jesus received His Mother and handed her the scepter, pointing to the universe around them. At that very moment, I saw something that comforted me greatly: many souls were leaving Purgatory and heading toward Heaven. I am certain that every year, on the day of her Assumption, many souls devoted to Mary are released from their suffering and ascend to Heaven. Regarding the hour of Mary's transit, I was shown that it was the ninth hour, the same hour in which her divine Son died. Peter and John must have seen this glorification of Mary, for I noticed their eyes were raised toward the heavens, while the others were prostrate, bowed toward the ground. Mary's body was radiant, as if in peaceful rest, with arms crossed over her chest, lying on her couch, while those present knelt, praying with fervor and tears in their eyes. Later, the holy women covered the body with a sheet. They gathered all the everyday items in one area and covered everything, even the hearth. Then they covered themselves with their veils and prayed for a long time, sometimes kneeling, sometimes sitting, in the first room. The apostles covered their heads with the hoods they wore and arranged themselves to pray in choir. Two of them knelt at the head and foot of the bed. I saw that during the day they took turns four times, and that the apostles walked Mary's Stations of the Cross. Meanwhile, Andrew and Manasses were busy preparing the burial site, the cave that Mary and John had set aside as Jesus's tomb at the end of the Stations of the Cross. This cave was not as large as Jesus's. It was barely the height of a man, with a small garden enclosed by stakes in front. A path led to the cave, where a hollowed-out stone stood ready to receive the body, featuring a small raised area where the head would rest. The station of Mount Calvary was on the opposite hill; there was no visible cross there, only one carved into the stone. Andrew worked particularly hard on this project and placed a door in front of the tomb. The sacred body was prepared for burial by the holy women. Among them, I remember a daughter of Veronica and the mother of John Mark. They brought sweet-smelling herbs and essences, proceeding with the embalming according to Jewish custom. They closed the doors and used lamps while they worked. They also removed the partition wall of Mary's room to create more space. The partitions and mats that divided Mary's bed were removed by the servant, as was the clothes wardrobe. Only the altar in front of the Virgin's Crucifix remained in the oratory, turning the entire space into a church where the apostles could pray and celebrate the divine offices. While the holy women prepared the sacred body for burial, the apostles prayed in choir, partly in the first room and partly outside. The women carried out their work with the reverence due to such a sacred body, taking the same care as they had with the sacred body of Jesus. Mary's sacred body, dressed in her garments, was placed in a basket shaped to fit the body, so that it rose slightly above the box. The body was white, luminous, so light and spiritualized that it could be lifted with great ease. The face was fresh, rosy, and youthful. The women cut locks of hair to keep as relics of the Virgin. They placed fragrant plants around her neck, head, under her arms, and in her armpits. Before covering the white-clad body with additional white cloths to wrap it completely, Saint Peter celebrated Holy Mass in front of the sacred body and gave Communion to the apostles. Then Peter and John approached in their grand festive copes. John held a vessel with prayers and balsam, and Peter anointed the forehead, hands, and feet of the sacred body in the shape of a cross with oil. The holy women then wrapped everything in white sheets. On her head, they placed a wreath of white, red, and sky-blue flowers as a symbol of her virginity. Over her face, they laid a transparent cloth so her features remained visible. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her feet, surrounded by fragrant herbs, were also covered with a transparent cloth. Thus prepared, the sacred body was finally placed in a white wooden box, with a lid that could be secured at the top, middle, and bottom. This box was placed on a bier. Everything was done with solemnity and quiet emotion; the mourning was expressed with greater outward sorrow than at Jesus's burial, where fear and haste prevailed due to their enemies.
To carry the sacred body to the cave, about a half-hour walk away, they proceeded like this: Peter and John lifted the body from the bier and carried it to the door of the house; there, placed back onto the bier, they carried it on their shoulders. Six of them took turns carrying the sacred deposit. The sacred body hung between the bars of the bier, suspended by straps and mats like a cradle. Walking ahead of the procession, some of the apostles prayed, while the holy women followed behind, bringing up the rear. They carried torches held inside gourds and raised on long poles.
Upon reaching the cave, they set down the bier. The apostles brought the body inside and placed it in the hollow prepared beforehand. Everyone filed past the sacred remains once more to pray and pay their respects. Then they covered the entire burial site with a mat. In front of the cave, they dug a hole and brought a fairly large plant with its roots and berries, planting it deeply and watering it abundantly so no one could enter the cave from the front. It could only be accessed from the sides, through the bushes.