Size
Base : 6 x 6.5 cm
Height : 18 cm
Material
Hand-painted resin
Please bear in mind that photo may slightly different from actual item in terms of color due to the lighting during photo shooting or the monitor's display.
Lady of Montserrat
This statue is a reproduction of Our Lady of Montserrat, a statue of the Virgin Mary and infant Christ venerated at the Monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat on the Montserrat Mountain in Catalonia. This statue will be a most lovely gift for a wedding or a wedding anniversary, an ordination or ordination anniversary, a profession or jubilee of religious vows, and for your favorite Jesuit.
Unlike many old statues which are black because of the kind of wood or the effects of the original paint, the dark color of Our Lady of Montserrat is attributed to the innumerable candles and lamps used in its veneration. Because of this dark color it is affectionately called La Moreneta, The Dark Little One. Thus, the Virgin of Montserrat is classified among the Black Madonnas.
The orginal Our Lady of Montserrat statue is a Romanesque sculpture was found in the literature that the original statue dates back to 50 AD, having been carved by St. Luke while he lived in Jerusalem. Through unexplained events, the statue moved from Jerusalem to Egypt, almost mirroring the escape of the Holy Family to safety as they fled persecution from King Herod’s troops.
On that fateful date, Shepherds “watching their flocks at night” saw lights and heard singing on a mountainside in Catalonia on successive Saturday nights and on investigation found the statue enthroned on a ledge in a cavern. Attempts to take the statue in Procession to the Cathedral failed, since, as they proceeded, the Statue became heavier and heavier. This was interpreted as a sign that they should leave it at a nearby Abbey.
Upon his recovery from battle wounds suffered in Pamplona, Spain and his conversion while convalescing at home, the future Saint Ignatius of Loyola set out on pilgrimage to the Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat on the Montserrat mountain in Catalonia, Spain. There, on March 25, 1522, he laid down his sword and vestments before the statue of Our Lady of Montserrat and put on sackcloth as a beggar. Being a young 26-year old romantic, he envisioned himself now as a knight of the Heavenly King. Saint Ignatius went on to found the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Our Lady of Montserrat still holds a special place in the hearts of Jesuits worldwide.