This blog post is a continuation of my previous post titled “A road trip with no end destination in mind,” in which I hopped in my car and headed north along 9W and the Hudson River, looking for new places to explore. I left the story at the point where I was in Haverstraw, NY, and saw a pair of large sculptures, one of which I believe to possibly be a Mark di Suvero … click the link above to see more.
As a continuation of my exploration of Haverstraw, I happened upon this little church along the banks of the Hudson near Bowline Point Park. The church was closed up, but the sign out front identified it as the Chapel of Maria Santissima Di Montevergine. I guess there was something about the small and simple style of the church – no decorative architectural elements, just a humble structure on a small peninsula of sorts, and the low-key aspect of it – no sidewalk leading to the front door, just a small grassy yard – it made me curious to learn more.
A search for that chapel name brings results first related to a church near Naples in Italy which was built in the 12th Century, although from what I can gather, the actual location in Italy has a religious history that goes back to pre-Christian times when there was a temple of Cybele there. A chapel of the Blessed Virgin was built at the same location in the 7th century, and it was the year 1119 when Saint William of Vercelli founded the monastery that still exists high up on the mountains (which circles back to my 12th Century reference above). One significant aspect of that church (in Italy) that I found is that during World War II, the church was used to hide the Holy Shroud of Turin, the burial cloth of Christ.
I realize I’m discussing the church in Italy, not Haverstraw, but I’m trying to get a baseline for where or why this same name was applied to this small church on the Hudson River. It seems there was an Italian family that immigrated to Haverstraw to work in the brickyards in the 1870s, and they were involved in bringing together the other Italian immigrants in what at the time was largely an Irish community in Haverstraw. They established an annual religious festival to honor the Virgin Mary and to continue their traditions from life in Italy, and over time, it became a massive event that reportedly brought crowds of 25,000+ people with Italian heritage from around the tri-state area to Haverstraw each fall from the early 1930s to the late 1950s. There must have been numerous sites hosting all those thousands of people during those times, as this current-day chapel doesn’t look like it could hold more than 50 people inside.
I’m sure there must be a lot more to the story of this chapel, but it’s hard to find – if you know anything about it and can share more info, please do so in the comments section below. One more thing I’ll cover from my research is a little something about the painting that is reproduced on the sign. It seems the original painting located in the Naples-area church is quite large, approximately over 12 feet tall and 6 feet wide, showing the Virgin Mary seated on a throne with the baby Jesus on her lap. It mentions on several sites where I was reading about it that the image of Mary is so dark, the icon is often referred to as a “Black Madonna.” It is believed that the original is one of a few “Black Madonnas” that are attributed to “Luke the Evangelist,” one of the four traditionally ascribed authors of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Sure, I went to Bible School as a kid, and studied art history in college, but I had never heard before that the writer of the Gospel of Luke was also an artist! I also saw that the painting in Italy brings over a million pilgrims yearly and there is a belief that there have been numerous miracles that have taken place in the presence of this portrait. I’m sure I’m just scratching the surface of stories and history about this painting and the church in Italy, but it also makes me more curious and I wish I could have seen the inside of the chapel in Haverstraw. Hmm, perhaps this is a launching pad for further research and another visit when the chapel is open – I’m curious if they have a reproduction of the same painting inside?
Here’s a closer look at the Virgin Mary sculpture that is placed to the right of the entrance to the Chapel of Maria Santissima Di Montevergine. I have to admit I don’t have a lot of knowledge about religious imagery, but I found it interesting that there was a symbol behind her head and upper torso that is not really visible from a straight-on view … can anyone share any insight on this?
I had mentioned the location of this chapel alongside the Hudson River, so I wanted to include a view of the river from behind the chapel – you can see that this point of the Hudson River is quite wide, and a quick search for the width tells me that the Hudson River actually reaches its widest point —3 miles — near Haverstraw.
