The Remarkable Capuchin Monastery in Sion
17 June 2025
According to a recent United Nations report, Switzerland remains one of the most innovative economies globally. However, this also applies to (religious) architecture and design. Several museums, including the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich, and Platforme 10 in Lausanne, are just a few examples.
In the church field, architecture and design are also sometimes innovative. The St. Nicolas Church in Hérémence, St. Antonius Church in Basel or the Capuchin Monastery (Le Couvent des Capucins) in Sion (Sitten, Canton of Valais/Wallis) speak for themselves. However, they reveal little about spiritual innovation.
The courtyard, in pink, is the ancient home for sick people.
Contemporary painting by Hans Ludolff, around 1653, the monastery on the left.
This Capuchin monastery was founded in 1643, partly in response to the reform movement that also held Valais in its grip until 1603. In 1603, however, the seven Zehnden in the Tagsatzung of Valais chose the old faith.
The monastery soon gained a good reputation in education and health care. Philosophy and theology, in particular, were well-known in the wider area and remained so well into the 20th century.
The garden of the monastery
The flourishing monastic community decided to modernise and enlarge the complex in the 1920s and 1930s. The first renovations, undertaken by architect Alphonse de Kalbermatten (1870-1960), date from this period. However, the 1946 earthquake forced further repairs by Fernand Dumas (1892-1956) and others.
However, the most remarkable intervention took place in the years 1962-1968, several decades before the monastery was taken over by Sion. Today, the municipality manages and rents the complex.
The ancient wall and modern decoration
However, it does not diminish the Capuchins’ creativity, innovations, and apparent financial strength. Venetian architect Mirco Ravanne (1928-1991) gave an original interpretation of the conversion of the convent. He largely preserved the old structures and walls, but with the addition of modern materials and, above all, beautiful contemporary artworks by Kengiro Azuma (1926-2016), Alberto Buri (1915-1995), Ángel Duarte (1930-2007), Marcel Feuillat (1896-1962), among others, Jacques le Chevalier (1986-1987) Manfredo Massironi (1937-2011), Paul Monnier (1907-1982), Bernhard Mühlematter (1931-2001), François Ribas (1903-1979), Remo Rossi (1909-1982), Gino Severini (1883-1966) and Antoni Tapiès (1923-2012).
Gino Severini, windows by Jacques le Chevalier
These artists continue to add a unique collection of artwork to the former monastery. Ravanne’s architecture, influenced by Le Corbusier (1887-1965), gives space, respect, and reflection not only to this art but also, at the time, to the religious, social, and educational significance of the monastery.
As of 2014, the Episcopal city of Sion has one more monument of national importance.
(Source: P. Cagna, P. Varone, R, Salvi, C. Schmid, F. Vannotti (Red.), Le Couvent des Capucins, Sion, 2017)
Kengiro Azuma
Antoni Tapiès and the traumata of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), symbolized by a warplane
