Catholic Question
The ‘Catholic Friends’ group on the Multiply social network that I visit has a large contingent of members from the Philippines. Just today I read an intriguing account of one of their devotions, which annually draws millions of the faithful for a traditional procession honoring as central figure a dark-colored figure of Jesus, the ‘Black Nazarene’.
Earlier, last year year, as I leafed through a gorgeous oversize book filled with photographs of Our Lady’s Shrines in Europe, I was surprised to notice how many of the beloved statues and portraits had flesh of an ebony appearance, for example, the Black Madonnas.
I’m wondering what lies behind this frequent use of dark or black material for Catholic statues, whether it be easier to work with, visually striking, liturgically meaningful, or just a traditional practice the origins of which are lost in the mists of history.
