Héctor Moya Montero
Puerto Rican, born 1930
Our Lady of Montserrat / Nuestra Señora de Monserrate, around 1993
Polychromed wood
14 ¼ x 9 ½ x 3 1/8 inches
Lent from a private Florida collection

The Virgin of Montserrat is one of the most revered images of the Virgin Mary in Puerto Rico. According to a Spanish legend, a statue of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child was hidden for safekeeping in a coalmine in the Montserrat Mountains of Catalonia, Spain. Supernatural interventions were attributed to this image, leading to her rising popularity throughout Europe and the Americas. She is the patron saint of the towns Aguas Buenas, Hormigueros, Jayuya and Salinas where her feast day is celebrated on September 8.