Jean Hani's The Black Virgin: A Marian Mystery differs from his previous
writings through its sharper theological focus. In Hani's view, the key
to the enigma of the Black Virgin was given at Lourdes by Mary herself:
in declaring herself The Immaculate Conception, she initiated us into
the Marian Mystery in all its profundity. And it is precisely through an
apprehension of the Mystery as a whole that the ultimate meaning of the
Black Virgin can be grasped. Chapters include: The Black Icon--Regina
Mundi--The Mother of God--"I am Black but Beautiful"--Woman
"Through his research into hidden or lost meanings, Jean Hani has
revealed and restored to our attention the most 'initiatic' dimensions
of the Christian religion." Jean Borella, author of The Secret of the
Christian Way, and The Crisis of Religious Symbolism (forthcoming from
Angelico Press)
Jean Hani (1917-2012), former professor emeritus at the University of
Amiens, was the founder of the Centre de Recherche sur l'Antiquité
Classique and a frequent contributor to the journal Connaissance des
Religions. After writing his PhD thesis on the influence of Egyptian
thought upon Plutarch, he produced annotated translations of the
latter's writings for the well-known Collection Budé. Later he became
known for his mastery of traditional hermeneutics and exegesis, and his
broad knowledge in the field of comparative religion. Hani's writing is
sensitive to the predicament of those moderns who seek a firm foundation
in traditional Christian values, while striving also to integrate into
that foundation whatever of value can be salvaged from the contemporary
world. His findings were presented in four important works now available
from Angelico Press in translation: the present volume, along with
Divine Craftsmanship (Preliminaries to a Spirituality of Work), The
Divine Liturgy (Insights into its Mystery), and The Symbolism of the
Christian Temple.
