Keep Up With Global Black News

Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest updates and events from the leading Afro-Diaspora publisher straight to your inbox.

BY Ama Nunoo, 6:00pm October 09, 2019,

Four popular Black Madonnas of Europe you need to know about

by Ama Nunoo, 6:00pm October 09, 2019,
Our Lady of Czestochowa, Photo: Pixels

Portrayals of the Virgin Mary (usually statues or paintings) that have dark-colored skin are usually referred to as Black Madonna. An icon of the Catholic or Orthodox church, the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus appear to be dark skinned in these representations.

There are about 500 Black Madonnas in Europe, alone, and these are the widely known ones. Others are around the world as well.

What makes this fascinating is the fact that the Virgin is often depicted with fair skin. This, however, makes the Black Madonna different from the norm and many theories have been put forward to explain why.

Some have said the candles around the statues or paintings have gradually darkened them while others are arguing that these depictions were a deliberate attempt by artiste to portray Virgin Mary as a dark-skinned woman.  There have been instances where some “miraculous” events have been credited to the Black Madonna.

Here is a list of four popular Black Madonnas.

Last Edited by:Kent Mensah Updated: October 9, 2019

Conversations

Must Read

Connect with us

Join our Mailing List to Receive Updates

Face2face Africa | Afrobeatz+ | BlackStars

Keep Up With Global Black News and Events

Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest updates and events from the leading Afro-Diaspora publisher straight to your inbox, plus our curated weekly brief with top stories across our platforms.

No, Thank You