The Virgin of Guadalupe.

A likeness of the statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Extremadura, western Spain: the statue, in the Real Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, is 59 cm high and is said to date from the 12th century. Both the Virgin and the Christ Child are black: the statue is one of a number of "black Madonnas" found in western Europe, especially in France and in Spain (the Virgin of Monserrat being the best known): they have a Biblical association in the verse of the Song of Songs, I:5 "I am black and comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem" (Réau, loc. cit.). The fame of the effigy attracted many pilgrims in hope of grace and good health, for whose benefit four hospitals were attached to the shrine. Owing to the number of churches in her honour in the Spanish-speaking world, the Virgin of Guadalupe has been called "Reina de la Hispanidad" (Queen of Hispanicity)