According to Stephen Benko, author of “Pagan Rome and the Early Christians,“ ”The Black Madonna is the ancient earth-goddess converted to Christianity.”
Ivan Van Sertima in “BLACK MADONNAS OF EUROPE: Diffusion of the African Isis” added:
“The Black Madonnas of Europe have a tradition which goes back hundreds of years, before the advent of Christianity. The African Isis [Aset] was prototype for the Black Madonnas of Europe. As the worship of Isis was suppressed, the Virgin Mary was elevated into the European Christendom. The African Isis was worshiped under the name of the Virgin Mary.”