Our Lady of Montserrat or the Virgin of Montserrat, in Catalan Mare de Déu de Montserrat, is a Marian title associated with a statue of the Madonna and Child venerated at the Santa Maria de Montserrat monastery on the Montserrat Mountain in Catalonia.
She is the Patron Saint of Catalonia, an honour she shares with Saint George (Sant Jordi, in Catalan). The famed image once bore the inscription Nigra Sum Sed Formosa in Latin, I am Black, but Beautiful.
Pope Leo XIII granted the image a Canonical coronation on 11 September 1881. The image is one of the Black Madonnas of Europe, hence its familiar Catalan name, La Moreneta, the little dark-skinned one or the little dark one. Believed by some to have been carved in Jerusalem in the early days of the Church, it is more likely a Romanesque sculpture in wood from the late 12th century.
An 18th century polychrome statue of the same image is also displayed in Saint Peter's basilica, previously stored in the Vatican Museums which was gifted by the President of Brazil, Joao Goulart on the Papal election of Pope Paul VI in 1963. The image has been on display for Papal masses since the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI.
The mountain of Montserrat has been of religious significance since pre-Christian times, when the Romans built a temple to honour the Roman goddess Venus.
By one account, the image of the Madonna was moved to Montserrat in 718, to avoid the danger posed by invading Saracens.
Legend has it that the Benedictine monks could not move the statue to construct their monastery, choosing to instead build around it. The statue's sanctuary is located at the rear of the chapel, where an altar of gold surrounds the icon, and is now a site of pilgrimage.
The 95-cm statue shows evidence of Byzantine conventional and stylized form, and is painted in polychrome. The reliquary statue of Sainte-Foy in Conques, in southern France, may have been a model. The art historical designation for this type of pose is called Throne of Wisdom. The body is thin, the face elongated. She holds an orb of the earth in her right hand. The Child's hand is raised in a formalized and traditional Eastern blessing.
More information: Abadia de Montserrat
In 2001 renovators working for the government observed that the black hands and face of La Moreneta had over the centuries undergone a change in colour. They attribute the change -from a lighter tone to black- either to prolonged exposure to candle smoke or a chemical reaction caused by a varnish used as a paint sealant. The statue was repainted black by successive generations of restorers. A series of tests, including X-rays, revealed the statue's original colour and also showed that the last repainting took place at the turn of the 18th century.
After making a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Montserrat around 1203, Pere Nolasc went to Barcelona where he began to practice various works of charity. Nolasc became concerned with the plight of Christians captured in Moorish raids and decided to establish a religious order to succour these unfortunates.
Upon his recovery from battle wounds, Ignatius of Loyola visited the Benedictine monastery of Montserrat, on 25 March 1522, where he laid down his military accoutrements before the image. He then led a period of asceticism before later founding the Society of Jesus.
The hymn to the Virgin of Montserrat, known as el Virolai and sung at noon each day by the Escolania de Montserrat boys' choir, begins with the words: Rosa d'abril, Morena de la serra... (Rose of April, dark-skinned lady of the mountain...). Therefore, this virgin is sometimes also known as the Rosa d'abril. Her feast is kept on April 27.
The statue has always been considered one of the most celebrated images in Europe.
The name Montserrat, traditionally abbreviated to Serrat, Rat, Rateta, Tat or Tóna, and also to Montse in recent years, is a popular girl's name in Catalonia.
More information: Montserrat Visita
De Montserrat estel
Il·lumineu la catalana terra
Guieu-nos cap al Cel
Guieu-nos cap al Cel
April rose, dark-skinned lady of the mountain
From Montserrat star,
Illuminate the Catalan land
Guide us to Heaven
Guide us to Heaven
Jacint Verdaguer
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