Waiting in line in the Basilica, as wended around the right side and then through a hall, up some steps, then some more steep narrow steps, we were stunned at the size of La Moreneta. For some reason, your mind creates a scale when you read about these religious works of art, and then when the statue comes into perspective, your mind needs to come in sync with what your seeing. Perhaps visits to various European cathedrals and national museums have shaped my expectations and perspective. We just loved that the Black Madonna was less than 3 feet in height.
The small wooden statue of La Moreneta (the Dark Maiden) offered her orb through the encased glass – and we could see how it has come to be known as the soul of Montserrat. It is said to have been made by St. Luke and brought to Montserrat by St. Peter in AD 50. Centuries later, the statue is believed to have been hidden from the Moors in the nearby Santa Cova (Holy Grotto).
Carbon dating suggests, however, that the current statue was carved around the 12th C. in 1881, Montserrat's Black Madonna was crowned in accordance with Canon Law and proclaimed Patron Saint of the dioceses in Catalonia, by Pope Leo XIII.
The cult of the Virgin of Montserrat, popularly known as "La Moreneta" because of the dark material of which she is sculpted, is the most popular cult in Catalonia. The "Moreneta", whose full title is "Mare de Deu de Montserrat", is housed in the Benedictine abbey that has become world famous also for its boy’s choir and school of music. This monastery was also notorious during the Franco regime for being a stronghold of Catalan culture and language. In direct defiance of Franco’s anti-Catalan laws, the monks of Montserrat continued celebrating marriages and baptisms in Catalan after the Civil War. The monastery became a refuge for the many currents of Catalan nationalism that remained underground until Franco’s death in 1975.
Our present Pope, John Paul II, made his own pilgrimage here five years ago.