The story begins in the 7th century with St. Gil, a hermit who came from Athens, Greece to the Pyrenees to live in solitude. He is said to have carved this archaic statue and later to have hidden her from the Moors. He spent four years in those mountains living with the local shepherds as their spiritual father and sharing with them the simple meals he cooked.

When he left his cave-hermitage he closed off the entrance to hide his 'treasure:' the statue of Our Lady, a crucifix, the bell he had used to call the shepherds to mass and to meals, and the cauldron he used to cook in. Eventually these things were forgotten.

But some time in the 11th century, a lover of the Virgin came from the Orient. He was a pilgrim from Damascus by the name of Amadeus. An angel had appeared to him in a dream, telling him to go to the Pyrenees and to build a temple to the Madonna in a place where a white stone stood between two rivers. If he dug there he would find a great treasure. When he arrived at the site, local shepherds watched him and miraculously understood when he addressed them in Syrian. He found the place he saw in his dream, built the chapel and a hermitage, but couldn't find the treasure. Seven years passed until a bull was seen beating his horns into a stone wall and roaring. The shepherds took this as a sign that something important was behind that wall. Busting through it, they found a cave of white stone that shines so brightly when it is lit up that it almost looks like crystal. That day too it was filled with an otherworldly light that revealed St. Gil's cherished objects.

Soon the hermitage was restored and its reputation for being a powerful holy place spread. Everything about it is considered sacred: The stone has curative properties and people pulverize it and take it as medicine. The water from the spring next to the cave is also said to heal. The cross is said to cure eye diseases. The bell and cauldron are used in a unique fertility ritual performed by barren couples.(*1) While the woman prays and sticks her head into the cauldron, her husband carefully rings St. Gil's bell. He must be very attentive because each ring will result in a birth! When a girl is born in answer to this ceremony one is to name her Nuria, if it's a boy, Gil. There are lots of Nurias in Catalonia!

In 1075 high ranking clergymen decided to move the Dear Dark One out of the wild mountains and bring her down to the more civilized environs of Caralps. But as so often, Our Lady refused. She gradually became more and more heavy until no one could move her and the people realized that she insisted on remaining in her sanctuary. On the return journey she seemed to weigh nothing.(*2)

During the 13th century a hermit brother of the Knights Templar was guardian of the sanctuary. Centuries later, during the Civil War, it was destroyed, but Our Lady was kept safe in a Suisse Bank! After the war this holy site with its guest houses for pilgrims was restored.

La Morenita's feast day is September 8th. On that day a reunion of many girls and women named Nuria is celebrated. The Virgin is carried in procession from her 'temple' to the hermitage of St. Gil where her devotees sing her praises.(*3)

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*1: Sophie Cassagnes-Brouquet, p.201 and www.Mercaba.org
*2: Ean Begg, The Cult of the Black Virgin, London, New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, 1985, p.257.
*3: http://pirineos.com/article/articleview/1063/4/ 4. El Santuario de Nuria, entre la Leyenda y los Milagros.