Our Patroness
The Black Madonna of Perpetual Help
Two ancient devotions meet in her. Our Lady of Perpetual Help — the refuge to whom the child Jesus ran — and the Black Madonna, the dark-skinned Mother long held as the strength and solace of the marginalized. Refuge and resistance, in one face.
The term “Black Madonna” refers to statues or paintings of the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child that are dark-skinned, representing the fertile, dark earth, and the generative power of the feminine. This particular depiction of the Black Madonna is merged with the iconography of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, which complements the resilience, resistance to injustice, and generative power of the feminine captured in the Black Madonna with the nourishing, welcoming, comforting embrace of our Lady of Perpetual Help.
Refuge for the wounded, welcome for the cast-out — her image is our whole purpose. Under her mantle, we ask to become what she is.
Black Madonna of Perpetual Help — pray for us, that we may be a refuge as you are a refuge.
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