Down through the ages, we have furnished our churches and homes with religious artwork. Paintings, statues, and other holy imagery serve to uplift the soul through the struggle of daily life.

As centuries pass, and old buildings fall to ruin, many things are lost to time...while others are preserved. Religious art is no exception. The earliest forms of Catholic artwork that stood the test of time are found in the ancient catacombs of Rome, where martyrs were buried. The use of sacred art grew widespread when people were free to practice their Catholic Faith publicly.

Another type of art are sculptures and statues. In regards to Catholic art, the Essen Cathedral in Germany houses the oldest surviving statue of the Blessed Mother known to exist in the world. This sculpture dates to about the year 980. It is a wooden Madonna and Child, coated with gold leaf, standing 29 inches high, with a base width of 10.6 inches.

The Madonna sits on a stool, holding a globe. With Her other hand She supports the Child Jesus, Who is resting upon Her lap. Christ is garbed in a pontifical gown, and looks up at His Mother. He has one hand raised, and with the other He holds a book to His chest. Mary’s head is covered with a simple veil, while a halo with cross beams is sculpted over the head of Christ. Originally, Mary also had a halo, but later this was replaced with the ceremonial Essen Crown.

The Essen Crown is the oldest of its style that still exists to our day. Termed a "lily crown" for its design shape, it is a beautiful, gem-studded golden crown, alloyed with silver. It is preserved - along with the statue and other precious religious artifacts - as part of the Essen Cathedral treasure.

The Madonna and Child statue is coated with gold, except for the eyes. These are made of enamel (heated powdered glass), so as to look human. Thus the Virgin looks at us, and Her Son looks at Her, with penetrating blue eyes.

The Golden Madonna held great importance for the people of Essen. In 1244, the seal of their city featured the Madonna, flanked by Saints Cosmas and Damian. The Liber Ordinarius from 1370 is the first document to mention the statue, going in great detail about a liturgy and processions that honored it.

This precious statue was normally housed in the cathedral’s treasury. The Madonna was honored in all the major processions, the most significant of all being the feast of Our Lady’s Purification, or Candlemas day (February 2nd). On this day, the statue was crowned with the beautiful Essen Crown, and thus carried in procession.

In 1905, the statue was professionally restored for the first time. After so many centuries, much of the statue’s wood had been eaten away by worms. What remained was very fragile and liable to collapse unless treated with great care. The restorers carefully cleared out the dust in the wood tunnels. Then they thoroughly filled each cavity with a sturdy mixture of chalk, glue, and water. This being done, the openings were sealed with oak bolts. This whole process cost 3,200 Goldmarks (equivalent to about 8,000 US dollars, which today would cost a little over $300,000.)

To keep the statue preserved, it is stored in a carefully crafted showcase in the cathedral’s northern side chapel. It’s been viewable to the public in this way since 1959.