The woman clothed with the sun appears in Revelation 12:1, standing on the moon with a crown of twelve stars. Catholic Bible scholars read her as God's people, Israel and the Church, and the Church's liturgy also sees in her Mary, the mother of the Messiah.
At a glance
- Where: Revelation 12:1–6
- Her signs: the sun, the moon under her feet, a crown of twelve stars
- Read at Mass: on the Solemnity of the Assumption, August 15
- Two readings: the people of God, and Mary
What does Revelation 12 say?
In his vision, St. John sees a great sign in heaven: “a woman clothed with the sun.” The moon is under her feet and twelve stars crown her head. She is about to give birth, and a great red dragon waits to devour her child. The child, who will rule the nations, is caught up to God, and the woman flees into the desert to a place God has prepared for her (Revelation 12:1–6).
Who is the woman?
The note in the US bishops' New American Bible explains that the woman, adorned with images taken from Joseph's dream in Genesis 37:9–10, stands for God's people in the Old and New Testaments. Israel gave birth to the Messiah, and the people of God continued as the Church, which suffers persecution.
The Church also reads this passage on one of Mary's great feasts. Revelation 11:19 and 12:1–6 is the first reading at the Mass of the Assumption on August 15, so in the liturgy the woman is heard as Mary, the mother of the child who is Christ. Many Catholic writers hold the two readings together: Mary, who gave birth to the Messiah, is also the model and image of the whole people of God.
What do the sun, moon and twelve stars mean?
- The sun: she is clothed in light, a sign of God's glory surrounding her.
- The moon under her feet: often read as standing above what changes and passes away.
- The crown of twelve stars: recalls the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles, the whole people of God. The image comes from Joseph's dream in Genesis 37.
These meanings are the common interpretations of commentators, not formal Church definitions.
Where you see her in art
The image shaped how artists show Mary. Many paintings and statues of the Immaculate Conception show her standing on a crescent moon with a crown or halo of twelve stars, and the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe surrounds her with rays of sunlight and places a crescent moon at her feet.
The art behind our Clothed with the Sun collection
Our Clothed with the Sun collection is named for this passage. The design on the back of the hoodie reads like a postage stamp from a pilgrimage to Medjugorje:
- Our Lady with her arms open and her crown of stars
- The sun above the village
- The cross on the hill
- The twin towers of St. James Church
- A small airplane postmark in the corner
- The words “clothed with the sun” along the bottom
The pattern on the scarf places Our Lady among sunbursts and small crosses in warm yellow and orange. We chose this passage because it holds both the people of God on pilgrimage and the woman who leads them to her Son.
Wear the sign
See the Clothed with the Sun hoodie, the journal and the scarf, or the full collection. Groups of 20 or more get 20% off.
Covering your head at Mass? Read why Catholics wear veils.