Montse

This female name derives from the Catalan “mont serrat,” which in turn derives from the Latin “montis serrāre > serrō,” meaning “clamp mountain, close / shut mountain.” It is the name of a mountain near Barcelona, the site of a monastery founded in the 10th century. Montserrat is a popular name for girls in Catalonia and several other parts of Catalan-speaking areas. The Virgin of Montserrat is a statue of the Virgin Mary and infant Christ venerated at the Santa Maria de Montserrat monastery in the Montserrat Mountains in Catalonia. It is one of the black Madonnas of Europe, hence its familiar Catalan name, (The little dark-skinned one). Believed by some to have been carved in Jerusalem in the early days of the Church, it is more likely a Romanesque sculpture in wood from the late 12th century. On September 11, 1881, Pope Leo XIII declared the Virgin of Montserrat patroness of Catalonia.