Faith Matters
The Church Program
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The Black Madonna
In the Catholic church, October is dedicated to the rosary. It’s also a time many of the faithful visit sites associated with the Virgin Mary. Black Madonnas can be found in some of the most important.
The color black is usually associated with evil, the devil, or death, not with things sacred. But even in early Christian times, there were black images of the Mother of God.
There are many Black Madonnas, and they are among the most venerated images of the Virgin. Since the Middle Ages, people have believed in their power to facilitate miracles. In Europe, Black Madonnas can be found in Częstochowa (Poland), Loreto (Italy), Einsiedeln (Switzerland), Montserrat (Spain) – and the town of Altötting in Bavaria.
What is the origin of the Black Madonnas? Could it be that their coloring is only caused by soot? Or do these icons hold a mystery that goes beyond academic Christian theology? Do they embody some primal image that speaks to our psyche?
Our journey of discovery begins in Altötting, and takes us back to France of the High Middle Ages, to the crusades, to ancient Greece and to Egypt. In our search for the origin of the Black Madonna, we encounter, time and again, old pre-Christian myths, traces of which can be found in early Christianity.
