Mary, Holy Mother of God
Places of mercy and strength
If one were to include every little wayside shrine, every wayside chapel and every field chapel in a count of the important sacred sites in Switzerland, one would certainly be dealing with hundreds of places where Mary is venerated as either the mother of Jesus Christ, as our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos, helper in time of need or comforter. The majority of Swiss places of pilgrimage are in fact places of adoration of the Virgin Mary. For centuries, the monastery at Einsiedeln with its Black Madonna in the chapel of grace has been the centre of pilgrimage in Switzerland.
The Mother of God (Maria or Mary) is referred to in Switzerland by names such as Our Lady of Grace, of Mercy, of Joy or of Sorrows as well by names with a reference to some local feature like «Maria zum Schnee» (snow), «Maria im Hag» (a hedge), «Maria im Ahorn» (a maple) or «Maria zu den drei Brunnen» (three wells), etc.
In more recent times, places of adoration of the Virgin Mary are also gladly presented secularly as “places of strength” and also visited by Protestants and non-Christians.