Marian devotion
The Willesden Black Madonna is the venerated advocation at the Anglican shrine of St Mary's, in Neasden Lane, Willesden. This fact sheet deals with a different place from the Catholic parish of Our Lady of Willesden, although they both retain the Marian memory of the same area of London.
Where is he?
The Anglican shrine is located in St Mary's Church, Neasden Lane, Willesden, London, England. The map's coordinate corresponds to the building identified by OpenStreetMap as St Mary's of Neasden Lane. The position of the historical well, if it existed at the exact point described by tradition, is not recorded.
Documented history
The local history of the sanctuary places the church in a very ancient tradition, but the more specific documentation contained in the report consulted records a pilgrimage in 1502: Elizabeth of York made an offering to the image. In 1517, vicar William Litchfield asked to be buried before her. The medieval image was removed and burned during the Reformation of 1538.
The veneration was recovered in modern times with a new statue installed in 1972. The Anglican parish page identifies the place as home to the Black Madonna of Willesden and keeps the memory of devotion in the church of England. The restoration of the statue does not mean that it is materially the missing medieval image.
Tradition and Legend
The characterization of Madonna Negra comes from the traditional description of the image as similar to the ebony. The place is also associated with a well considered holy and curative properties. Andrew Pink's historical research warns that there is no reliable documentary evidence to turn into proven history the alleged apparitions or healing properties of the well. In this document, tradition is preserved, but it is distinguished from documented.
Ecclesial State
It is a sanctuary of the Church of England, of Anglican Catholic tradition; its veneration is permitted within that Church. It's marked as other _ church not to present it as a Roman Catholic sanctuary. There is no Catholic judgment about an apparition or a statement of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Prayer
Holy Mary, Mother of the Lord, pray for those who seek God in prayer and on pilgrimage. Intercede for us to live with truth, mercy and hope. Amen.
Sources
A medieval memory and an image of the 20th century
The parish of St Mary's presents its church as the heiress of a community that dates back, according to its own history, to the foundation attributed to King Athelstan in 938. The available historical research is more prudent in describing the growth of the pilgrimage: from the end of the 15th century and until the English Reformation, Willesden appears in the records among the English destinations dedicated to the Virgin. Both references are preserved as testimonies of different nature and do not become a unique date invented for the sanctuary.
The historical source identifies as the first reliable witness of pilgrimage in 1502, when Elizabeth of York sent money to Willesden and other Marian places. He also records an aid for a pilgrim in 1503 and the testament of the vicar William Litchfield in 1517. The destruction of the image is located in 1538, when the images that were the object of pilgrimage were removed. These documents show the existence of historical devotion, but they do not explain with certainty how the concrete tradition of Willesden was born.
The current statue of the Black Madonna was installed in 1972 and was created by the English sculptor Catharni Stern. It is a modern work that maintains the devotional language of the sanctuary; it is not the missing medieval image. The tradition of the well and its healing properties are separated from the documented history because the research consulted does not provide a reliable proof that will allow it to be affirmed as a fact. The state other _ church identifies the Anglican ambition of the sanctuary.
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