Our Lady of Oropa

Our Lady of Oropa (Italian: *Madonna Nera di Oropa*, also *Madonna d'Oropa*) is one of Italy's most venerated Black Madonna images, enshrined at the Sanctuary of Oropa in the Piedmont Alps near Biella. ## 📜 History & Tradition According to pious tradition, this wooden statue of the Virgin and Child was carved by Saint Luke the Evangelist and discovered in Jerusalem by Saint Eusebius of Vercelli in the 4th century. When Eusebius fled persecution by Arian Christians, he carried the statue to the mountains above Biella and placed it in a rocky cave. When attempts were made to move the image, its weight miraculously increased—interpreted as a sign that the Virgin willed a sanctuary to be built there. Art historians date the actual statue to the late 13th or early 14th century, attributing it to an anonymous master sculptor from the Valle d'Aosta. Carved from cedarwood with face and hands painted black, the image depicts Mary holding coins for the Temple offering while the Child Jesus holds a sacrificial dove—representing the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. ## ☩ Miraculous Attributes Popular tradition holds that three miraculous signs attest to the statue's sanctity: - The wood shows no damage from woodworm despite its great age - Mary's foot remains unworn despite centuries of pilgrims touching and kissing it - Dust never settles on the faces of the Virgin and Child The "dust-free miracle" is ceremonially verified each November when a white cloth is passed over the faces, revealing no residue. ## 👑 Centenary Coronations Since 1620, the Black Madonna has been solemnly crowned every 100 years on the last Sunday of August: - **1620**: First coronation by Bishop Giacomo Goria - **1720**: Second coronation - **1820**: Third coronation, with crowns donated by King Vittorio Emanuele I and Queen Maria Teresa of Austria - **1920**: Fourth coronation before 150,000 pilgrims after World War I - **2021**: Fifth coronation (delayed from 2020 due to pandemic), with Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as Papal Legate ## 🛐 Veneration Approximately 800,000 pilgrims visit Oropa annually. The town of Biella maintains an annual pilgrimage of thanksgiving dating to their deliverance from the 17th-century plague. Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati was particularly devoted to the "Brown Madonna" of Oropa, making regular pilgrimages from nearby Pollone. **Feast Day:** October 29 (local observance); Presentation of the Lord (February 2)