“A confused person violently undressed the Black Madonna” in the Grace Chapel of the famous Swiss monastery of Einsiedeln on Saturday afternoon, the monastery reported. “The venerated 15th century image of grace was slightly damaged.”
In relation to the “act of violence,” the monastery is grateful “that nothing else happened and, above all, that no one was hurt.”
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An Afghan asylum seeker tore down the clothes from a 15th-century Virgin Mary statue in a Catholic chapel in Switzerland and placed her crown on his head. The statue sustained minor damage during the incident.
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“We deeply regret this incident and think of the many people whose religious feelings were hurt at the scene,” the monastery said. “Our prayers and thoughts are with them, as well as with the person detained by the police. “His motives are still the subject of police investigation.”
“We would like to thank the police who arrived at the scene very quickly, as well as several people who were in the church for their brave and prudent intervention,” he added.
The Gothic image of the Black Virgin dates back to the 15th century. An older Romanesque image was probably destroyed in a fire in 1465. The Black Madonna had to be hidden in 1798 due to the invasion of French troops. The image did not return until 1803. It has been in the Chapel of Grace since 1817.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA German.
CNA German
The CNA Deutsch editorial team has been providing global information from a Catholic perspective in German since 2015, with the support of partner agencies based in Rome, Washington, Lima, São Paulo, Nairobi and Kirkuk. CNA Deutsch is a service of EWTN News.