SAINT-MAURICE ABBEY – 2000 YEARS OF HISTORY

This is one of the great religious and architectural features of Valais. Saint-Maurice Abbey, which was solemnly inaugurated on 25 September 515 by Saint Avit, bishop of Vienne-on-the-Rhone, bears witness to much older a religious presence still. Indeed, the former Agaune (today Saint-Maurice), through which anyone wishing to enter the Valais had to pass, was already known to the Celts and the Romans. Nearly 2000 years ago, the Ro-mans maintained a garrison there to supervise the place. There are also relics of the Ro-man worship of the time, a temple dedicated to the Nymphs to protect the water, a stele of-fered to Mercury, the god of trade and travel. A first century Roman arch which afforded access to the temple of the Nymphs is still visible in the catacombs close to the basilica.

Saint-Maurice Abbey owes its origin to the sanctuary built on the tomb of Saint Maurice and of his companion martyrs. Because they refused to persecute other Christians on orders from the Emperor Maximilian, these soldiers of a Roman legion that had come from Thèbes in Egypt were executed by the Roman army towards the end of the 3rd century. Between 380, the date when Saint Théodule, the first known bishop of Valais, collected the relics of the martyrs and 1946, when work was done on rebuilding the structure damaged by a rock fall, eight churches had been built on the same site. The splendid treasure of Saint Mau-rice Abbey is a living souvenir of this rich period.

The current basilica, which dates from the 17th century, is a splendid monument decorated with the mosaics of Paul Monnier and a series of stained glass windows produced in 1950 by Edmond Ball, an artist from Neuchâtel.
The pretty Romance cloister, the catacombs with the foundations of the primitive churches and the Martolet – the site of significant archaeological excavations – supplement the visit to this beautiful architectural site.

Saint Maurice Abbey is still home to about thirty monks, members of the Confederation of Canons of Saint Augustin. One of its principal activities is still teaching. The college, rec-ognised by the Canton of Valais, accommodates about sixty boarders and trains over a thousand students in university studies.