Black Virgins around the globe
The prevailing view amongst the faithful and the Church itself, and indeed amongst researchers, is that the dark colour of the image enshrined in the sanctuary is due to trivial factors such as the ageing of the wood, the type of wood, or the accumulation of smoke over the centuries whilst on display in churches where candles are constantly being burnt.
It is also a fact, however, that many insist on placing Our Lady of Nazaré amongst the Portuguese examples of the curious phenomenon of the Black Madonnas, which has given rise to a wide variety of interpretations, far less mundane than the smoke from tallow candles.
There are around 450 records worldwide of black-skinned Virgins, which these researchers maintain, with evidence, have always been black; the majority (around 300) are in France, but they are scattered throughout Europe, including in Portugal and Brazil.
The best-known Portuguese Black Madonnas are Our Lady of Nazaré, Constança and Our Lady of Ribamar (Mafra). And on the other side of the Atlantic, we have the most prominent example of Brazil’s own patron saint, Our Lady of Aparecida, also known as the Black Mother.
In Europe, apart from the countless French depictions, the best-known example is the patron saint of Poland, the Virgin of Częstochowa, but there are many shrines dedicated to Black Madonnas, usually of medieval origin, such as Our Lady of Montserrat (Barcelona); Our Lady of Vilvoorde and Our Lady of Flanders, Tournai, and the Chapel of the Black Virgin, Maillen, Assesse (Belgium); Our Lady of Vie, Avioth (France); the Virgin of Evaux-les-Bains (France); La Dourade, Toulouse; Our Lady of Good Hope, Dijon (France); Our Lady of Rocamadour, Marseille (France); the Black Virgin of Onval (Luxembourg); Our Lady of Penha de Francia, Salamanca; the Virgin of the Pillar, in Zaragoza Cathedral (Spain); Our Lady of Altötting, Bavaria (Germany); Our Lady of Candelaria (Colombia); La Negrita, Cartago (Costa Rica and Tenerife); Cathedral of the Black Virgin, Missouri (USA); Our Lady of the Hermit and Saint Mary of Loreto (Switzerland).
Although the prevailing view tends to downplay the phenomenon, for proponents of the ‘Black Virgin’ theory, these figures were deliberately depicted in this manner, reflecting a deep-rooted heritage of pagan traditions, deities and fertility cults from pre-Christian antiquity, associated with the Marian cult that ‘exploded’ during the European Middle Ages.
In South American countries, on the other hand, where there are also many depictions of the Virgin with dark skin or mixed-race features, the decisive factor was above all the connection to the characteristics of the indigenous peoples and the need to foster their identification with Christian symbols.
Our Lady of Nazaré
The cult of Our Lady of Nazaré dates back to the 8th century. The image of Our Lady of Nazaré is that of a black virgin.
Carved in wood, it was brought from Merida to this oceanic promontory in the year 711 by Friar Romano, a monk of the convent of Cauliniana, who fled the Muslim invaders in the company of D. Rodrigo, the last Visigothic king after the defeat of the Christian armies in the Battle of Guadalete.
They allegedly sought refuge in the Visigothic monastery which then existed in the vicinity, and from which the St. George Church survives.
