Regarded as a symbol of French resilience during World War I,[A] the artwork portrays the Virgin Mary presenting Christ Child heavenward.

The Golden Virgin was designed by French sculptor Albert Roze in 1897 and it was placed atop the Basilique Notre-Dame de Brebières.

[8] Two pilots, Alfred Leblanc and Émile Aubrun, used the sculpture as a compass and it was referred to in a news article as the "famous golden virgin".

[11] In 1914, German forces suspected a French observation post was housed in the church's bell tower so beginning in October 1914, they shelled the dome.

[12] Although artillery shells destroyed much of the town of Albert, the statue of Mary remained attached to the Basilica but was tilted at an extreme angle.

[4] Many soldiers were superstitious and they studied the sculpture daily; they wrote about it in their diaries and remarked that it was knocked over and threatening to fall at any time.

[13][D] The statue became a symbol to both British and German troops; soldiers remarked the Virgin Mary was keeping the baby Christ from falling.

At any rate, when the Germans were beaten back at the beginning of the last Allied offensive and Albert was retaken, the tower and statue had fallen in ruins.

[1] The sculpture of The Golden Virgin was recast in 1929[6] and fitted atop the 76 m (249 ft 4 in) bell tower during the reconstruction of the Basilica.

[23] The events surrounding the church and its sculpture are the subject of Henry Williamson's 1957 novel The Golden Virgin; volume 6 of the series A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight.