In art historical terms, a black Madonna is a painting or sculpture depicting the Virgin Mary with dark or black skin, created in Europe in the late medieval period, or sometimes an older image whose documented popular cult dates from that time. Some are made of dark or black materials such as ebony, others are said to have become blackened from the soot of candles, although this explanation and the significance of the Madonna’s skin colour is contested. There are several hundred black Madonnas in Europe. The topic of black Madonnas has attracted a considerable literature in recent decades approaching the subject from the perspectives of anthropology, psychology, art history, feminism, and Black history.

According to legend, Notre Dame de la Sarte, a black Madonna, was brought to Huy in Belgium by a returning crusader, though art historians date the current statue to the end of the 15th century. The original chapel was destroyed in the 16th century, during the Wars of Religion, leaving the statue disfigured in the ruins. In the summer of 1621, with the town still occupied by Dutch Protestant troops, a local woman by name of Anne Hardy was passing the ruined chapel on her way home from collecting firewood. Discovering the statue, she decided to take it home and hid it in the bundle of firewood she was carrying. The bundle suddenly became supernaturally heavy and impossible to lift, even with the help of two passers-by. Taking this as a sign that the Madonna wished to remain in her sanctuary, they returned the statue to its niche, finding it suddenly light again and easily lifted. News of this miracle immediately drew crowds of pilgrims. The chapel was rebuilt but soon proved too small for the growing throngs and was replace by a bigger church built between 1624 and 1628.

In 1656, when a drought threatened the country with famine, the local government and clergy organized the usual public supplications to the Virgin, this time with the addition of a procession. The statue was brought down from its mountain sanctuary and solemny processed around the city, whereupon the much-needed rain began to fall abundantly. From that date the ritual has been repeated every seven years. It begins with special devotions the night before August 15th, the feast of the Virgin's Assumption into Heaven, followed by the procession on the feast day and nine days of celebrations. The statue was canonically crowned in 1896. This holy card was published around that time as a souvenir of the pilgrimage.