The Mystery of the Black Madonna

A symbol that has inspired both devotion and derision

The Black Madonna at Chartres Cathedral before she was made white | France | Photo by Elena Dijour

Christianity’s glory days are long gone now. But the narratives it has woven for the past two thousand years still have a strong pulse in Western culture. Our thinking easily polarizes. If we’re not careful, we tend to label everything about the world and our selves as either good or bad. Especially colors.