Walking with Mary in the heart of the Alps

At the foot of the Mont Blanc, on the Italian side but not far from Switzerland and France, stands the small shrine of Our Lady of Healing. The place is full of ex-votos left by thousands of both anonymous and famous visitors, including Italian saints and popes such as St John Paul II.

Every year in August, a pilgrimage takes one of the traditional routes to reach the shrine, starting from the small chapel of Our Lady of the Snows in Val Ferret, Switzerland, over the mountain to Courmayeur, Italy. About 300 people usually gather at the foot of the statue of Mary for the closing Mass. 

Fr. Yves Sarrasin, a native of Orsières in Valais (Switzerland), is a member of the Third Order of the Eucharistein Fraternity. He is the initiator of this annual pilgrimage called "The August 15th Pilgrimage" from Our Lady of the Snows in the Swiss Valais, to Our Lady of Healing on the Italian side of Mont Blanc. This year it took place on August 19th. "This pilgrimage is very special in the sense that it allows us to walk with Mary," Father Sarrasin explains.

Zenit.org