A new form of translocal martyrdom was (re)invented in the context of African migration to Switzerland a decade ago: The ‘Pèlerinage aux Saintes et Saints d’Afrique’ at St. Maurice and the pilgrimage dedicated to the (Black) Virgin Mary in Einsiedeln. Under the patronage of the federal Catholic ‘Swiss Bishops Conference’ (SBC) several annual events are organised by clerics, missionaries and non-clerics to incorporate African residents in the institutional setting of the Catholic Church. These events are designed to attract Africans but also to revitalise Catholic faith and practice. In this context, African martyrdom is becoming a metaphor for suffering in crisis, escape and migration.