Theodore Chapel Saas-Fee

The Theodore Chapel in the hamlet of Wildi was created in the year 2000 at the suggestion of Erich Zumtaugwald. There had never been a chapel in the hamlet of Wildi. Concrete plans had always fallen through in the past, just before they were due to be realised. In the 1990s, it was suggested that a chapel dedicated to Saint Theodore of Octodurum (Saint Jodern) the first bishop of the canton of Valais, should be built in a hamlet that had grown into a small village.

A first Theodore Chapel had already existed in Saas-Fee between 1633–1893 on the site which is now the parish church; it had to make place for the church which was, in turn, dedicated to the first bishop of Valais. When the parish church was completed in 1963 and dedicated to the “Sacred Heart”, the patron saint Theodore of Octodurum was available again for a new chapel in Saas-Fee.

The Theodore Chapel with a small tower and bell was constructed in the hamlet of Wildi by builders from the canton of Valais. It was consecrated by the local parish priest Eugen Zimmermann in the year 2000. Representations of saints Henry and Agnes as well as Robert and Victorina, the patron saints of the parents of Erich Zumtaugwald and his wife Serafine Zumtaugwald-Arnold, decorate the exterior walls of the chapel.

In the choir of the chapel, Saint Theodore and his attributes – the bishop’s staff, grapes, wine cask and bell – seem to be hovering from the ceiling. The Son of God, the Holy Spirit and God the Father are depicted on the three windows of the choir.

The woodcarvings of the Stations of the Cross come from Oberammergau. The ambo and the archway of the entrance are made of tuff. The paintings on the nave ceiling depict the mountain panorama of Saas-Fee.

The feast day of the patron saint is celebrated on 16th August.