the catholic doctrine of the assumption covers mary's bodily movement to heaven, but the dogmatic definition avoids saying whether she was dead or alive at that point. the question had been in dispute in catholic theology, and although she is normally shown in catholic art as alive at the point of assumption, many catholics believe she had died in the normal way. pope pius xii alludes to the fact of her death at least five times, but left open the question of whether or not mary actually underwent death in connection with her departure, in his apostolic constitution, "munificentissimus deus" (1950), which dogmatically defined ex cathedra (i.e., infallibly) the assumption.