Holy Christ of Lepanto restored

The carving, which was believed to be black, is actually white, but it has been darkened by dirt accumulated over the last century.

The Black Christ of Lepanto, Barcelona's most venerated image, has returned to the Catalan cathedral after a process of restoration, with a new appearance. The carving, which was thought to be black, is actually white, but it has been darkened by dirt accumulated over the last century. This was explained this Wednesday by the dean of the cathedral, Santiago Bueno; the curator of heritage and canon of the temple, Robert Baró, and the restorers Esther Gual and Ana Ordóñez.

The layer of dirt on the image was made up of smoke, varnish and soot, under which was hidden an old polychrome from the 19th century, the most recent on the image before it darkened as a result of externalfactors. All this dirt was easily removed using an eraser and hot distilled water, explained the restorer Ana Ordóñez.

"It was possible to see that the polychromy was not only well preserved but also of very high quality", said Canon Robert Baró, who also stressed the advisability of recovering its previous colour, given that "the blackening of the piece took place during the 20th century", according to EFE news agency.

Asked about the impact that the new appearance will have on the faithful, who have always seen the image darkened, he assured them that they will be "surprised", although he hopes that they will fall in love with the new appearance over time. It so happens that the Moreneta, as the Virgin of Montserrat is known, was not originally black either, although in this case it was decided to keep it darkened, since after so many centuries of having been considered this colour, it would have meant damage to the immaterial heritage.

Thirteenth-century carving

This is not the only novelty that has been discovered with the restoration. Until today the image was dated to the 16th century, although it is now thought that it may date back to an earlier period, probably to the 13th century, something which researchers will have to confirm in the coming months.

According to tradition, the Holy Christ of Lepanto of Barcelona was on the captain's ship in the decisive battle of Lepanto in 1571, which prevented the advance of the Turks over Europe, and its characteristic inclination of the body is attributed to the fact that it dodged a bullet or that it covered an open breach in the ship.

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