The Secret Order of Swiss Medical Saviors

In a country known for being modern and precise, an ancient healing practice passed down from the heavens has surprising staying power.

Illustrations by Michael Furler | Edited by Brendan Spiegel

Georges Delaloye was hiking up Mont de l’Arpille in Martigny, Switzerland, when he received a gift from heaven.

“I settled at the foot of a tree and began to write,” Delaloye recalls of this most memorable moment in June of 2005. “Once this writing was completed, when I read it again, I discovered, a little stunned, that I had received the Secret.”

Delaloye is a Reciter of the Secret. In the French-speaking part of Switzerland, many people call on these Faiseurs de Secret when they have an injury, sickness or other health concern. In an extremely old practice — dating back to the Middle Ages — people visit the Reciters (or more often these days, call or even text) to ask for a prayer that will relieve them of their ailment.

While Delaloye is Catholic, the practice of the Secret itself is not attributed to a specific religion. The gift of becoming a Reciter of the Secret is passed down through families, Delaloye explains, with a d…