Since it’s mid-December and the weather has continued with crisp, clear vibrant blue skies every day, Trav and I decided to extend our typical walk with Touille in order to visit La Brillaz Chapel, a tiny old church in a forest just a couple of miles from our house.
We passed the mini amphitheater with wooden benches half circling this Catholic shrine just up the street from our house. When we first arrived in Switzerland, the numerous and openly public religious shrines, crosses, and statues of the Virgin Mary were startling. After 6 months here, I’ve largely grown accustomed to them.
Switzerland has lots of shrines to the Virgin Mary. Some are merely statues along rural roads while others are more complex, like this one that has wooden benches surrounding it.
Winding through the fields past a few scattered country houses and one giant Bernese Mountain Dog, we turned off onto a narrow dirt road into the woods, arriving at the quaint little chapel to find our sun had briefly abandoned us. Despite the sudden gloom of the cold wintry forest, I found the chapel entirely charming.
The La Brillaz sees few visitors, but remains unlocked for the stray pilgrim who happens by.
Since the door was unlocked, I popped inside. Trav stayed outside to entertain Touille while I enjoyed a few moments of solitude in one of the tiny wooden pews.
-
- The interior isn’t heated but it’s quite peaceful.
-
- Despite its tiny size, the stained glass windows featuring saints are still large and colorful.
A statue of angels embracing stands at the entrance of La Brillaz Chapel.
Far from religious, I impulsively lit a candle and sent a few words of penitence off into the general unknown. After all, I like to think that even when a tree falls in the forest but nobody is there to hear it, it still makes a sound, which implies that somebody hears it, right?