Helvetia Sacra

History of ecclesiastical institutions in Switzerland

Helvetia Sacra is a reference work for the study of the ecclesiastical institutions of Switzerland. The articles in this encyclopedia describe the history of Swiss dioceses, foundations, convents and monasteries. Short biographies of the bishops, abbots and abbesses complement the historical descriptions. Since 2020, the index volume and, since 2024, all the articles are accessible via a web database. The database is a compendium of information on the history of Catholic Church institutions in Switzerland. For example, descriptions of monastic libraries in the Handbook of the Swiss Monastic Libraries (published in 2022) are freely accessible via this database. Work is currently in progress on updating the index data on the dissolution of monasteries and on recent superiors.