Amity, Oregon
The Black Madonna,
Our Lady of Consolation
In the garden of the Brigittine Monastery, 23300 Walker Lane, Amity, OR 97101, open 9-5 every day except Sundays 1-5.
article and photos by Raylene Abbott
I drove up old Hwy 99 taking in the scenery of the autumn leaves and vineyards changing colors. The hazelnut trees were heavily laden with nuts ready for harvest. Hidden in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, this statue is one of the most beautiful Black Madonnas I have seen on the West Coast. She graces the garden of the Brigittine Monastery outside of Amity.
The Brigittine Order was established by St. Birgitta of Sweden in the year of 1370. Both monks and cloistered nuns follow the Rule of St Augustine. St. Bridget’s granddaughter Lady Ingegerd Knutisdotter, the Abbess of the order, turned the Royal Castle of Vadstena into a monastery in the year of 1369.
The small monastic community of Brigittine Monks in Amity live a simple life deeply rooted in the Love of Christ, devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the celebration of the Eucharist. They are a contemplative order, living their life in silence, prayer, and work. They are a self-supporting monastery which creates a variety of artisan chocolate truffles. I did not come for the chocolate today; I came to pray and commune in the Silence of the Monastery Garden before the Black Madonna Our Lady of Consolation.
There are two statues of Our Lady of Consolation at Amity Monastery, the Black Virgin of the Garden and a White Madonna that graces the monastery chapel. The statue in the chapel which holds the Infant Jesus is influenced by the Spanish tradition. The Spanish Madonnas have doll-like features that were inspired by the queens of Spain. The Madonnas are dressed in handmade clothing of silk, satin, brocade, and wear curled hair wigs. Their wardrobe changes with the season and festival holidays.
There are many different countries that have shrines and pilgrimages to Our Lady of Consolation. The oldest icon with this title is housed in Turin and attributed to St. Luke.
She is also referred to as “Consolatrix Afflictorum,” (Comforter of the Afflicted.) This title originated from the Augustinian Order and became part of a prayer, “The Litany of Loreto''.
Our Lady of Consolation is well known in Minimos, an ancient convent of Spain where pilgrimages to Utrera were so crowded that the Marshals of Seville had to be called in for crowd control. That 16th century pilgrimage to Our Lady of Consolation is going strong to the present day.
The statue in the chapel of Amity is white, yet the Garden Madonna is Black. This Black Virgin was sculpted in Sweden which gives this icon an old world tradition, much like statues you may find in the grand cathedrals of Europe. The Amity Black Madonna finds her place in a simple garden surrounded by butterfly bushes buzzing with bees. This statue holds Baby Jesus in one arm and a distaff in her other hand. The distaff is a powerful woman's symbol. Many of the Bon Mere Madonnas of France also hold distaff as scepters of authority. A distaff holds flax or wool so it can be fed between the fingers to be spun onto a drop spindle or spinning wheel. The distaff refers to the Mother Lineage in a family. It is not unusual to find European Black Madonnas holding distaffs, yet the Black Madonna of the Brigittine Monastery is a little bit different. Baby Jesus also holds a distaff like his Mother’s.
Ean Begg in his book “The Cult of the Black Madonna” says: “The distaff sign of practical feminine wisdom is the woman’s magic wand of transformation in that almost alchemical process, the production of linen from flax. The third of the riddles posed by the Queen of Sheba to Solomon had as its answer the word flax.”
More often than not Our Lady of Consolation is found as a White Madonna yet there is a Black one in Pilzno, Poland “Matki Bozej Pocieszenia” listed in this index. The Augustinian Order became responsible for the shrine of this Black Madonna in 1403. This Black Madonna arrived in Pilzno somewhere in the eight hundreds. They hung the icon in the castle tower in a chapel protecting the city from invaders. Yet Poland got caught up in another war when Sweden and Russia were trying to expand their empires. It was called the “Swedish Deluge”, a series of wars that lasted five years. In 1657, the icon was damaged by fire but later was restored.
Maybe this is why the modern rendition of the Black Madonna in a Peaceful Garden was chosen by the Swedish Order of Brigittine Monks. Our Dark Lady of Consolation reminds us that when we pray, wrongs can be made right, the blind can see, Peace can return, and our prayers can be answered.
Our Lady of Consolation is not only a beautiful Black Madonna but when one truly sinks into the Silence and Prayer of this Monastery Garden the Blessing truly can be felt. You can also support the monastery after your visit by enjoying some of their chocolate delights.
Sources:
Ean Begg, The Cult of the Black Madonna, first publishing 1985 by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd
https://olcparishrockford.com/parish/our-patroness/
https://anastpaul.com/2017/09/04/4-september-feast-of-our-lady-of-consolation/