| Switzerland: the Black Madonna of Einsiedeln |
| One of the most frequented shrines of Central Europe is that of the Black Madonna of Einsiedeln. The image is found in a Benedictine monastery in the town of Einsiedeln, ouside Zurich. The Virgin of Einsiedeln is known as Our Lady of Hermits. The story of Our Lady of Einsiedeln begins with the Benedictine monk Brother Meinrad. He began his monastic life at the Swiss monastery of Reichenau. When he left this monastery in 840 to become a hermit, he hid himself in a cave in the mountains. Soon thereafter, people started to visit Meinrad to seek him as their confessor. This however was not the mission of the solitary. So, taking his belonging and his statue of the Mother of God, he retired more deeply into the wilderness. Here, he lived as a hermit for more than twenty years. In 863, Meinrad’s peace was seriously disturbed. Two robbers went up to his hideout believing that they would find gold and treasures there. They killed the hermit, whom they thought defenceless. But, according to the legend, he did have two guards, two crows. The assassins were surprised when they found no treasures. Then, suddenly, they were terrified. The legend reports that two candles lighted up Brother Meinrad’s lifeless body. When the robbers left the site, the two crows followed them all the way to Zurich, where they were identified as the murderers of Brother Meinrad. The first pilgrimages When the story of the murder spread, Meinrad’s cell in the mountain became a place of great popular devotion. When the first miracle healings took place at the site, people were convinced these were granted through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, whom Meinrad had venerated with deep love and devotion. His cell became known as the Lady Chapel. |
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| In 940, a community of hermits was founded at the place and a Benedictine monastery was erected to enclose the cell of Brother Meinrad. On September 14, 948, a day before it was to be consecrated, the new church of Einsiedeln was suddenly filled with a blinding light and the Virgin Mary was seen standing on the altar. When Bishop Conrad entered the church the next day, he heard a clear voice say that there was no need to consecrate the church, because this had already been done by Christ himself. The deposition of Conrad, dated 948, is still intact and preserved at the abbey of Einsiedeln. Black Madonna The object of veneration at the abbey of Einsiedeln is a black statue of the Blessed Virgin. The statue is late Gothic and crafted. The Virgin wears a strawberry red dress. The Child Jesus is naked. The most attractive features of the statue are perhaps the gentile facial expressions of both Mother and Son. The statue is usually dressed in Spanish courtly dress, in richly embroidered robes. The colours of the dress vary according to the liturgical season. The Son and his Mother both wear a crown, which glorifies them as King and Queen of Heaven. Every day at 16.30, after the Latin vespers are sung, the monks of the abbey sing the Salve Regina before the image: “Hail holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us. And after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Amen.” HOME |
| The images (top left to bottom right): the monastery, the Black Madonna, Chapel of Mercy exteroir and interior. |