Saints
Between All Hallows and the country’s patron saint
As everywhere else, all saints are venerated in Roman Catholic Switzerland, too; the one more than the other. It is not so easy, though, to choose “Swiss” saints. The result differs depending on the way one makes the choice.
An example: St Martin is also highly venerated in Switzerland; that he is patron saint of many churches bears witness to this, as does the fact that Martin is also a popular Christian name. But he is not a Swiss saint. By contrast, Nicholas von Flüe is a «local saint» through and through: he was born in Switzerland, lived in Switzerland, died in Switzerland, was venerated in Switzerland during his lifetime and has been the country’s patron saint since 1947.
There are several lists of Swiss saints (and blessed). The list published by the Liturgical Institute of German-speaking Switzerland is based on the «Diözesanproprien» (saints’ feast days in the cathedrals) and could be described as the official saints’ index of Switzerland.
Our selection covers the «most prominent» saints of Switzerland and those who have made a significant contribution to Christianity in Switzerland.