The Black Madonna in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Annunciation. The statue is a replica of a much older one, which had been dragged about during
a mock trial at the time of the French Revolution. That statue was guillotined like Marie Antoinette and then burned. The present statue, made of black marble,
represents the Madonna seated on a stool and is about 63 cm (25") high. She holds her son on her knees. According to tradition, the original statue was brought
to the sanctuary by St. Louis, King of France. During the Crusades, he was captured by the Moors in Africa, but the Sultan, as a sign of his esteem, presented
the King of France with a cedar wood figure of Our Lady with the Child.