Our Lady of Montserrat

**Our Lady of Montserrat** (*Mare de Déu de Montserrat* in Catalan), affectionately known as *La Moreneta* ("the little dark one"), is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a 12th-century Romanesque polychrome statue enshrined at the Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat in Catalonia, Spain. The wooden image depicts Mary enthroned as the Seat of Wisdom (*Sedes Sapientiae*), holding an orb representing the cosmos in her right hand while the Christ Child sits on her lap offering a blessing. The statue's dark coloring—which gave rise to her popular name—is believed to result from centuries of candle smoke and varnish oxidation, though some scholars attribute it to the original polychrome technique. According to tradition, the original image was carved by St. Luke in Jerusalem and brought to Spain by St. Paul. During the Moorish invasion of 718, the faithful hid the statue in a mountain cave, where it was miraculously rediscovered by shepherd children around 880, accompanied by heavenly light and celestial music. The Bishop of Manresa found the image immovable, interpreted as a sign that Our Lady wished to be venerated on this sacred mountain. The sanctuary became one of medieval Europe's most important pilgrimage destinations. St. Ignatius of Loyola's famous all-night vigil before the Black Madonna on March 24-25, 1522—during which he laid his sword at her altar and donned pilgrim's garments—marked his conversion and set him on the path to founding the Society of Jesus. Pope Leo XIII crowned the image in 1881 and proclaimed Our Lady of Montserrat patroness of Catalonia on September 11 of that year—a date that coincides with Catalonia's national day. Pope St. John Paul II visited the sanctuary in November 1982. Her principal feast is celebrated on April 27.