Anecdotes about the Virgin Mary

"The icon that nobody looks at from Kykkos"

Troodos Mountains (Cyprus)

In the Troodos Mountains, in the heart of Cyprus, stands the Royal Monastery of Panagia Kykkos, one of the island's great monastic centers. There, an icon of the Virgin Mary of the Eleousa type—the Virgin of tenderness—is venerated. Known as the Panagia Kykkotissa, or Our Lady of Mercy of Kykkos, it is considered one of the most beloved and miraculous icons in all of Cypriot Christendom.

Tradition holds that the icon was painted by Saint Luke and that it was in Constantinople, from where it arrived in Cyprus at the end of the 11th century through the mediation of Emperor Alexius I Komnenos, who also founded the monastery. Its most distinctive feature is that the icon remains veiled: popular piety holds that it should not be viewed directly, and some modern accounts even claim that whoever unveils it will be blinded or die. This severe description appears in recent devotional writings and is not supported by historical fact.

It is important to make a distinction. The existence of the monastery as one of the most important in Cyprus and the venerated and veiled nature of the icon are well documented. However, its foundation at the end of the 11th century under Alexios I Komnenos is transmitted as a founding tradition, not as a proven document; and the authorship of Saint Luke and an undisputed critical dating of the icon are not established. Among the devotional accounts is that of 1760, when the Virgin of Kykkos was credited with protecting the island from a plague of locusts.

There is no established historical link between Our Lady of Kykkos and the Rosary, nor the origin of a Rosary confraternity. Her veneration, deeply Orthodox, is nevertheless integrated into the universal love of Christians for the Mother of God.