From the village of Monistrol de Montserrat, we hiked up to Santa Maria de Montserrat, which is nestled in the rocks about halfway to the top of the Montserrat massif. The Benedictine monastery was founded in the 11th century, and with over 70 monks in residence, is still functioning Abbey today.
The monastery is notable for housing the Virgin of Montserrat in its basilica. The Virgin of Montserrat is the title given to a venerated statue of the Madonna and Child, which as legend goes, was moved to Montserrat in 718 AD to avoid danger from invading Saracens.
The statue itself is one of the ‘Black Madonnas of Europe’, and its Catalonian name is ‘La Moreneta’, or ‘The Little Dark-Skinned One’. It once bore the Latin inscription ‘’Nigra Sum Sed Formosa“, which translates to “I am black, but beautiful.” She is the Patron Saint of Catalonia.
Here are a few pictures of our visit to the monastery …
