I grew up in a catholic family, in France, and then lived in Italy, but until I moved to New York City, where people of various cultures and religions live, I had no idea about the Black Madonna.
One day I went to a performance by the Giullari di Piazza (the Gesters at the Square) at the cathedral of Saint John the Divine; the group, led by Alessandra Belloni and John LaBarbera, revived the old traditions of southern Italy through music and dance. Feeling nostalgic about Italian culture I enjoyed the music, singing and dancing honoring the Black Madonna. More recently, Alessandra Belloni organized a zoom performance of chanting and dancing in times of plague, or Covid-19![1].
Subsequently, during a trip to southern Italy, I visited Locorotondo (round place), a small town near Bari; I went into a church (I don’t remember the name of!), and for the first time I saw a statue of a Black Madonna on the altar.
Black Madonna on the altar of a church in Locorotondo, Bari
Years later I learned about the Black Madonna of Tindari, a town in the province of Messina, Sicily[2]. The sanctuary built in Her honor contains Her wooden statue with Black Infant Child and bears the inscription “Nigra Sum Sed Formosa”, I am black but beautiful, a statement attributed to the Queen of Sheba, from the Song of Songs of King Solomon, a Jewish and Christian sacred text. It is said that the original text was “Nigra Sum Et Formosa” (I am black and beautiful)[3]. According to the legend, the statue was smuggled out of Constantinople during the period of destruction of icons under Emperor Leo III (675-741 AD); a storm forced the ship to land on the shore of Tindari[4]. Sicilian people turn to Saint Mary of Tindari for protection; catholic and orthodox venerate the Black Madonna, She is represented in many churches in Italy, France, Eastern Europe and many other countries.
Black Madonna, Santa Maria in Tindari, Messina, Sicily (Clemens Franz Photographer, Wikimedia)
Interpretations about the darkness of the Black Madonna vary: at times it is said that black was the original color, while at others that it was originally white, but became dark due to aging and candles burning. I prefer the explanation given by Dr. Malgorzata Oleszkiewicz-Peralba, associate professor at the University of Texas and San Antonio: “She is the mother of universes, identified with the primordial darkness and chaos of the universe, and with the moist and fertile black earth.”[5]
Like Dr. Malgorzata, I believe the Black Madonna represents the Divine Mother whose appearance varies according to the culture: in Mexico City, She appeared as a dark skinned Indian, Our Lady of Guadalupe (whom I wrote about in my previous blog); in India She is venerated as Kali.
As tragedy in Ukraine and other countries unfolds, may the Divine Mother answer the prayers for peace from all those who venerate Her, in all representations.
“DARKNESS is the one true actuality, the basis and the root of light, without which the latter could never manifest itself, nor even exist. Light is matter, and DARKNESS pure Spirit. H. P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine
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[1] https://alessandrabelloni.com
[2] https://siciliangodmother.com/2012/11/04/the-black-madonna-of-tindari/
[3] https://mdpi.com/journal/Religions 2012, 3, 544–555; ISSN 2077-1444 The Global Consequences of Mistranslation
[4] https://historyofyesterday.com/the-mystery-of-the-black-madonna-a0503c5f537
[5] https://www.utsa.edu/ovations/vol8/story/black-madonna.html