Many such Black Virgins exist, often having survived centuries of war, some in large basilicas, others in village churches, yet others in museums and libraries. Many more are also in private hands, for a variety of reasons. Some are painted statues, others are murals or paintings, and some are statues carved from ebony. Some of the most famous Black Virgin shrines are Chartes, Loreto, Zaragoza, Rocamadour, Montserrat, and Guadalupe. Many Christians, both clergy and laity, simply accept that these shrines to the Black Virgin, and the loyal, fervent devotion they foster, are ultimately inexplicable, a mystery of the divine feminine.
Some writers believe they represent a Christian form of Isis, as a mother with child.
These shrines are believed to have special healing powers, among other things, and to be places where newly married brides can go for fertility blessings. There is also a strong religious folk tradition connecting the Black Virgins to the medieval Knights Templar and also with Mary Magdelene. Whether such legends spring from a kernel of truth, or are purely legendary, it is still intriguing to examine the sheer number of such place-names, legends, and beliefs about these subjects and their interconnections, at least in the popular mind. And that in itself says something. St. Bernard of Clairvaux was born at Fontaines on the outskirts of Dijon, a place said to have had its own Black Virgin.