Plate 15

The parish
The parish of Vercorin was established around 1200, when its Romanesque sanctuary was built, shortly after the first parishes appeared in the Valais. It is characterised by three elements: the site, the parish priest and the rural population, and the sanctuaries.

The site
At an altitude of 1346 m, the parish complex occupies a dominant position on the access road to the "Crêtes". It is an ideal vantage point from which to view the whole of the area that has been logged and reclaimed from the forest. The bisse marks the exact boundary between pasture and forest. Originally, around 1200, it fed into the Orzival torrent, i.e. the Navizence basin. Around 1380, the expansion of the meadows to the west necessitated the construction of the Bisse de Vercorin. It fed, and still feeds, at La Rèche. The last pastures bordering the bisse form the mayen area. A mayen is a single chalet that houses the livestock shelter in the basement, the earthen kitchen, the bedroom and the barn upstairs.

The vicarage and the farmlands
The parish owned farmland that the parish priest sometimes farmed himself or, more often, leased (rented out to others in return for payment). Here we find the four buildings of the traditional rural dwelling. Today, their use has changed.

• The vicarage, which dates back to 1705 and was raised in 1831, was used as a dwelling. Note the south "window" in the basement, made from a filling from the Gothic church, apparently reused here.
• The "raccard", now known as the "Cénacle".
• The attic, dating from 1760. Some of the specific details have been lost.
• The barn-stable.

The sanctuaries

The new church
The new church was built in 1963. The stained glass windows are the work of Albert Chavaz. The "Way of the Cross" was made without lead because of the limited space available, the coloured glass being juxtaposed between two sheets of transparent glass and then heated. Above, the long glass roof reproduces the magic of the agates of our childhood. The technique of lead-free stained glass was tried out in French-speaking Switzerland during the Second World War, when metal was in short supply.

The former church of Saint-Boniface (12th-13th centuries)

• The nave, demolished in 1963. However, the roots of the walls show the shape it retained until 1704. The reasons given for its demolition were the lack of space inside and the threat of the building collapsing.
• The bell tower. The first twelve metres of the Romanesque tower, up to the top of the geminated windows (two grouped windows), are original. The bell storey and spire date from the 18th century. Vercorin boasts a renowned Valaisan carillon with four bells: Bb, C, D and F.
• The choir. Late Gothic (1500), it features a remarkable group of wall paintings, dated 1520 and signed H. R., for "Hans Rinischer". Each vault represents the symbol of one of the four
• Evangelists: Matthew to the east (the winged man, the Incarnation), Mark to the north (the lion, the Resurrection), Luke to the west (the bull, the Crucifixion), John to the south (the eagle, the Ascension). To the right of the altar, Saint Maurice, patron saint of the Valais. Baroque altarpiece from 1704.
• The former sacristy. Some fine objets d'art belonging to the parish are kept here. The Gothic stained glass windows from Vercorin (circa 1490) are now the property of the National Museum in Zurich.

Plan of the construction stages of the former church of Vercorin.

The tapestry
In 2006, thanks to a generous donor and at the instigation of Henri Marin, this monumental work of art, the only one of its kind in Valais, was created to embellish the new church. It was woven using a technique that dates back to the Middle Ages by André Magnat, master weaver and "meilleur ouvrier de France" at the Aubusson workshop, based on a model by Isabelle Tabin-Darbellay. It was burnt down in 2008, then rebuilt by the same craftsman in 2010. The relic that survived the fire is on display in the former sacristy.

The theme
In front of Albert Chavaz's Way of the Cross, which carves a horizontal line of light into the left wall of the church, the tapestry rises vertically to catch the eye and direct it towards the altar. The Way of the Cross evokes Christ's last steps from arrest to death, ending in a burst of colour: the Resurrection. The tapestry evokes the Way of Mary, and echoes Erwin Rehmann's Way of Life, which welcomes the faithful and visitors to the . The Christian's Way of Life is part of that of Mary, the most perfect of creatures.
Four key moments in Mary's life follow on from one another, linked together by an interplay of rhythms that underline the necessary yet mysterious links. The idea is to capture the vivid colours of the stained glass windows and contain them in neutral masses that build the whole.
 

• The Immaculate Conception: symbolised by the transparent spring at the bottom of the hanging.
• The Annunciation: Mary, the source, is visited by the angel; this is the moment of the Incarnation.
• The Cross: Mary and John; Mary becomes mother of the Church.
• The Assumption: transparent, enveloped by the sun, she has become the impetus; the movement is born at the very bottom in the source and finds its fulfilment at the summit.