The Pearl of Catalonia

In the year circa 800, the Moors were invading Spain, so the inhabitants of the region, where a certain Black Madonna was venerated, hid it in the mountains to save it from possible profanation. The Arab occupation lasted eight centuries and the statue remained hidden and forgotten. When it pleased the Lord to reveal the hiding place, He caused stars to fall and converge at a certain place on the mountain. This phenomenon happened several times on consecutive days. Shepherds, witnesses of this wonder, informed the civil and ecclesiastical authorities of Manrese. The townspeople dug in the ground on this spot and found the statue and carried it in procession to Manrese, followed by a large crowd of believers. The procession arrived at the current site of the Shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat, where the statue became so heavy that no one could make it budge. Obviously, the Blessed Virgin wanted her statue to be venerated on that exact spot. A monastery was blessed and named the guardian of the “Pearl of Catalonia", or "April Rose, Black Madonna of the Mountain, Star of Montserrat, Spread Your Light on Catalan Country, Show Us the Way to Heaven!”