In one version of the Latin Transitus Mariae text, Jesus hands over the body of Mary to Michael to take to heaven; as a result of the intercession of Michael and Mary, the souls in hell are granted three hours of rest.
“The Latin Transitus Mariae: Assumption of Holy Mary— Conclusion from Paris Bibliothèque nationale, fonds latin 3 550,” in The Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin Mary (trans. Stephen J. Shoemaker; Apocryphes: Collection De Poche De L’Aelac 17; Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2023), 282-84
Conclusion from Paris Bibliothèque nationale, fonds latin 3 550
. . . And they were sitting at the door of the tomb, as the Lord had said to them. And while they were sitting, the Lord came to them with a multitude of angels and said to them, “Peace be with you, brothers.”
And the Lord ordered the archangel Michael to take up the body of Blessed Mary in the clouds, and he told the apostles to draw near to the Lord, and they were themselves taken up in the clouds, and the Lord ordered the clouds to go to Paradise. And thus they placed the body of Blessed Mary in Paradise, under the Tree of Life. And the angels of the Lord brought the soul of Blessed Mary and placed it in her body. And the Lord ordered the angels to go to their place.
Mary and the Apostles Visit the Places of the Damned
1. And the Lord said to them, “It would be good for you if you did not see, but if you want to desire, now you will see it.” And the Lord ordered the clouds, and they took up the apostles together with Mary. And the Lord said to Michael, “Open hell.” And immediately it opened. And the Lord gave place to the apostles, so that they would see what hell was like.
2. And they saw the angel Michael, and they wept with great tears, saying, “Michael, master, prince of the angels, whom you have always established, intercede for us.” Nevertheless, when the apostles heard this, they fell on their faces. The Lord, however, raised them up and said to them, “Remember what I said to you: ‘I will lead you to the places where there is no light.’”
3. Then the archangel Michael said to those who were in hell, “The Lord lives, he who is and remains forever and will judge the living and the dead.” For let them be inflamed for the human face; for he is beseeching the goodness of God. But the Lord said, “Consider, Michael, that I love the human race even more than myself. I did not desist from shedding my blood, and nevertheless, they have not repented.”
4. And again we saw the souls that had been consigned to the torments, and they cried out to Blessed Mary, saying, “Mary, mother of our Lord, Mary, Virgin and Immaculate, who is the true light, and Mary, Queen and Blessed forever, pray for us to our Lord that he gives us appeasement from the torments that we suffer.” Likewise to Blessed peter and John similarly.
5. And the Lord said to those who were consigned to the torments, “Why did you not remember when I suffered for your sake and when they whipped me and I did not respond, and when I received spit I endured patiently as you were sending me forth and pursuing eternal life. But now on account of your weeping and that of Michael my archangel and Mary and the apostles you will have three hours of rest.”
6. And when he said this, he ordered all the places of hell to close. And so the apostles were returned to the Tee of Life where Isaac and Jacob were with all of the saints who had gone forth from the body. They were resting there in the perpetual joy of the kingdom.
7. Truly the soul of Blessed Mary was assumed and placed in Paradise on the fifteenth day of the month of August, with the Lord Jesus Christ reigning, to whom is honor unto the ages of ages. Amen.