HOLY VIRGIN MARY OF EINSIEDELN
Abbazia nullius in the canton of Schwyz, in central Switzerland.
The origins of the cult of the Madonna under the title of *Unsere liebe Frau von E.* date back to the 9th century. At the site of the present-day sanctuary there lived, from 888, the hermits of E. (16 July) and of the Assumption. A distinctive feature of Marian devotion at E. is the solemn singing of the *Salve Regina*, practiced daily after vespers since 1548. The spiritual care of pilgrims is entrusted to the monks of the Benedictine abbey, which (as of 1952) numbers 126 priests, 10 non-priest professed, and 59 lay brothers; about eighty, however, are employed elsewhere, especially in Swiss and foreign institutes and schools. The present monastery, built in 1700, and its basilica, consecrated in 1735, are among the most notable Baroque constructions north of the Alps.
Pius X, by motu proprio of 7 May 1907, declared it an abbazia nullius. Pius XII, with the apostolic constitution *Insignis Einsiedlensis* of 13 December 1947, confirmed this privilege in perpetuity for the abbot pro tempore and all the rights, powers, and privileges proper to prelatures nullius, expressly derogating from the prescription of can. 319, §2 of the CIC (AAS 40 [1948], pp. 142–43).