Essays on Life 



a chronicle of the valley of Saas written in the 

 early years of this century by the Rev. Peter 

 Jos. Ruppen, and published at Sion in 1851. 

 This work makes frequent reference to a 

 manuscript by the Rev. Peter Joseph Clemens 

 Lommatter, cure of Saas-Fee from 1738 to 

 1751, which has unfortunately been lost, so 

 that we have no means of knowing how 

 closely it was adhered to. The Rev. Jos. 

 Ant. Ruppen, the present excellent cure of 

 Saas-im-Grund, assures me that there is no 

 reference to the Saas-Fee oratories in the 

 "Actes de 1'Eglise" at Saas, which I under- 

 stand go a long way back ; but I have not 

 seen these myself. Practically, then, we 

 have no more documentary evidence than is 

 to be found in the published chronicle above 

 referred to. 



We there find it stated that the large 

 chapel, commonly, but as above explained, 

 wrongly called St. Joseph's, was built in 

 1687, and enlarged by subscription in 1747. 

 These dates appear on the building itself, and 

 are no doubt accurate. The writer adds that 



there was no actual edifice on this site before 



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