Nicholas of Flue
Encyclopedia
Saint Nicholas of Flüe (21 March 1417 – 21 March 1487) was a Swiss hermit
and ascetic who is the patron saint
of Switzerland
. He is sometimes invoked as "Brother Klaus."
He was born in the canton of Unterwalden
, the son of wealthy peasants, and made himself distinguished as a soldier in action against the canton of Zurich
, which had rebelled against the confederation. At around the age of 30, he married Dorothy Wiss, a farmer's daughter. They farmed in the municipality of Flüeli in the alpine foothills, above Sachseln
on the Lake Sarnen. He also continued in the military to the age of 37, rising to the position of captain, reportedly fighting with a sword in one hand and a rosary
in the other. After serving in the military, he became a councillor and judge for his canton in 1459 and served as a judge for nine years. He declined the opportunity to serve as Landamman (governor) of his canton.
in Switzerland, establishing a chantry
for a priest from his own funds so that he could assist at mass
daily. According to legend, he survived for nineteen years with no food except for the eucharist
. His reputation for wisdom and piety was such that figures from across Europe
came to seek advice from him, and he was known to all as "Brother Klaus." In 1470, Pope Paul II
granted the first indulgence
to the sanctuary at Ranft and it became a place of pilgrimage, since it lay on the Jakobsweg (Way of St. James), the road pilgrims travelled on to Santiago de Compostela
in Spain. His counsel prevented a civil war between the cantons meeting at the Diet
of Stans
in 1481 when their antagonism grew. The advice he gave them remains a secret to this day. Despite being illiterate and having limited experience with the world, his is honored among both Protestants and Catholics with the permanent national unity of Switzerland. Letters of thanks to him from Berne and Soleure still survive. When he died, he was surrounded by his wife and children.
He was beatified in 1669. After his beatification, the municipality of Sachseln built a church in his honour where his body was interred. He was canonized
in 1947 by Pope Pius XII
. His feast day in the Roman Catholic Church
is 21 March, except in Switzerland and Germany where it is 25 September.
cites a brief personal prayer of St. Nicholas of Flue in paragraph #226 of Chapter 1 of Part 1, Section 2 "The Profession of the Christian Faith" under subheading IV "The implications of faith in one God" an aspect of which is making good use of created things.
As a layman with family responsibilities who took his civic duties as an ancestral landowner seriously, Brother Klaus is a model of heroic manhood for many concerned with the flourishing of local communities and sustainable use of open land. He is the patron saint of the German-language association KLB (Katholischen Landvolkbewegung), the Catholic Rural Communities Movement.
. A cloth painted with the image, known as the meditation prayer cloth associates the symbol with six episodes from the life of Christ: the mouth of God at the Annunciation, the eyes spying Creation both in its prelapsarian innocence and redemption from the Fall at Calvary, while in the inward direction the betrayal by his disciple Judas
in the Garden of Gethsamene
points to the crown of the Pantocrator sitting in the judgment seat, the glad tidings of the Nativity scene's "Glory to God in the Highest and Peace to his people on Earth" echoes in ear on the right of the head, while the memorial of the Lord's Supper "This is my body, which will be given for you" at the prayers of consecration in the Divine Liturgy of the Mass echoes to the ear on the left of the head.
These six medallions contain additional symbols of acts of Christian kindness:
This visual interpretation encapsulates the personal piety of rural peasants, many illiterate, for whom salvation history was expressed in these crucial aspects of God's loving relationship with us and the Christian duty to love of neighbor. Sanctifying grace flows from the Pascal Victim on the Cross, an image Nicholas described in his vision by the stream, where the Tabernacle sits atop a spring that flows forth covering the earth, echoing the rivers flowing from the Temple in Ezekiel
's visions. Such profound insights on the allegorical, anagogical and tropological senses of scripture are often lost in modern biblical exegesis that focuses too narrowly on the literal sense, the historical-critical method
.
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
and ascetic who is the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. He is sometimes invoked as "Brother Klaus."
He was born in the canton of Unterwalden
Unterwalden
Unterwalden is the old name of a forest-canton of the Old Swiss Confederacy in central Switzerland, south of Lake Lucerne, consisting of two valleys or Talschaften, now organized as two half-cantons, an upper part, Obwalden, and a lower part, Nidwalden.Unterwalden was one of the three participants...
, the son of wealthy peasants, and made himself distinguished as a soldier in action against the canton of Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, which had rebelled against the confederation. At around the age of 30, he married Dorothy Wiss, a farmer's daughter. They farmed in the municipality of Flüeli in the alpine foothills, above Sachseln
Sachseln
Sachseln is a municipality in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland.-Geography:Sachseln has an area, , of . Of this area, 45.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 39.4% is forested...
on the Lake Sarnen. He also continued in the military to the age of 37, rising to the position of captain, reportedly fighting with a sword in one hand and a rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
in the other. After serving in the military, he became a councillor and judge for his canton in 1459 and served as a judge for nine years. He declined the opportunity to serve as Landamman (governor) of his canton.
Political mystic
After receiving a mystical vision of a lily eaten by a horse, which he recognized as indicating that the cares of his worldly life (the draft horse pulling a plough) was swallowing up his spiritual life (the lily, a symbol of purity) he decided to devote himself entirely to the contemplative life. In 1467, he left his wife and his ten children with her consent and set himself up as a hermit in the Ranft chineChine
A chine is a steep-sided river valley where the river flows through coastal cliffs to the sea. Typically these are soft eroding cliffs such as sandstone or clays. The word chine originates from the Saxon "Cinan" meaning a gap or yawn....
in Switzerland, establishing a chantry
Chantry
Chantry is the English term for a fund established to pay for a priest to celebrate sung Masses for a specified purpose, generally for the soul of the deceased donor. Chantries were endowed with lands given by donors, the income from which maintained the chantry priest...
for a priest from his own funds so that he could assist at mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
daily. According to legend, he survived for nineteen years with no food except for the eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
. His reputation for wisdom and piety was such that figures from across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
came to seek advice from him, and he was known to all as "Brother Klaus." In 1470, Pope Paul II
Pope Paul II
Pope Paul II , born Pietro Barbo, was pope from 1464 until his death in 1471.- Early life :He was born in Venice, and was a nephew of Pope Eugene IV , through his mother. His adoption of the spiritual career, after having been trained as a merchant, was prompted by his uncle's election as pope...
granted the first indulgence
Indulgence
In Catholic theology, an indulgence is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven. The indulgence is granted by the Catholic Church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution...
to the sanctuary at Ranft and it became a place of pilgrimage, since it lay on the Jakobsweg (Way of St. James), the road pilgrims travelled on to Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
in Spain. His counsel prevented a civil war between the cantons meeting at the Diet
Tagsatzung
The Swiss Tagsatzung was the legislative and executive council of the Swiss confederacy from the beginnings until the formation of the Swiss federal state in 1848. It was a meeting of delegates of the individual cantons...
of Stans
Stans
Stans is the capital of the canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland.-History:Stans is one of the oldest settlements in the entire Nidwalden valley. The first traces of human settlement date to the 2nd Century BC...
in 1481 when their antagonism grew. The advice he gave them remains a secret to this day. Despite being illiterate and having limited experience with the world, his is honored among both Protestants and Catholics with the permanent national unity of Switzerland. Letters of thanks to him from Berne and Soleure still survive. When he died, he was surrounded by his wife and children.
He was beatified in 1669. After his beatification, the municipality of Sachseln built a church in his honour where his body was interred. He was canonized
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
in 1947 by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
. His feast day in the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
is 21 March, except in Switzerland and Germany where it is 25 September.
Prayer citation
The new Catechism of the Catholic ChurchCatechism of the Catholic Church
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the official text of the teachings of the Catholic Church. A provisional, "reference text" was issued by Pope John Paul II on October 11, 1992 — "the thirtieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council" — with his apostolic...
cites a brief personal prayer of St. Nicholas of Flue in paragraph #226 of Chapter 1 of Part 1, Section 2 "The Profession of the Christian Faith" under subheading IV "The implications of faith in one God" an aspect of which is making good use of created things.
My Lord and my God, take from me everything that distances me from you.
My Lord and my God, give me everything that brings me closer to you.
My Lord and my God, detach me from myself to give my all to you.
As a layman with family responsibilities who took his civic duties as an ancestral landowner seriously, Brother Klaus is a model of heroic manhood for many concerned with the flourishing of local communities and sustainable use of open land. He is the patron saint of the German-language association KLB (Katholischen Landvolkbewegung), the Catholic Rural Communities Movement.
Visionary images
Of the many spiritual insights Nicholas received in his visions, one in particular is reproduced often in a reduced logographic format, as a mystical wheel. Nicholas described his vision of the Holy Face at the center of a circle with the tips of three swords touching the two eyes and mouth, while three others radiate outwards in a sixfold symmetry reminiscent of the Seal of SolomonSeal of Solomon
In Medieval Jewish, Christian and Islamic legends, the Seal of Solomon was a magical signet ring said to have been possessed by King Solomon, which variously gave him the power to command demons, genies , or to speak with animals.-In legend :...
. A cloth painted with the image, known as the meditation prayer cloth associates the symbol with six episodes from the life of Christ: the mouth of God at the Annunciation, the eyes spying Creation both in its prelapsarian innocence and redemption from the Fall at Calvary, while in the inward direction the betrayal by his disciple Judas
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
in the Garden of Gethsamene
Gethsemane
Gethsemane is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem most famous as the place where, according to Biblical texts, Jesus and his disciples are said to have prayed the night before Jesus' crucifixion.- Etymology :...
points to the crown of the Pantocrator sitting in the judgment seat, the glad tidings of the Nativity scene's "Glory to God in the Highest and Peace to his people on Earth" echoes in ear on the right of the head, while the memorial of the Lord's Supper "This is my body, which will be given for you" at the prayers of consecration in the Divine Liturgy of the Mass echoes to the ear on the left of the head.
These six medallions contain additional symbols of acts of Christian kindness:
- two crutches suggest Visiting the sick as a work of mercy
- hiker's walking stick with travel pouch suggests Hospitality to strangers
- a loaf of bread, fish and a pitcher of water and wine represent Feed the hungry, quench the thirsty
- chains indicate Care for the incarcerated
- Christs garments evoke Clothe the naked
- a coffin reminds us to Bury the dead
This visual interpretation encapsulates the personal piety of rural peasants, many illiterate, for whom salvation history was expressed in these crucial aspects of God's loving relationship with us and the Christian duty to love of neighbor. Sanctifying grace flows from the Pascal Victim on the Cross, an image Nicholas described in his vision by the stream, where the Tabernacle sits atop a spring that flows forth covering the earth, echoing the rivers flowing from the Temple in Ezekiel
Ezekiel
Ezekiel , "God will strengthen" , is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Ezekiel is acknowledged as a Hebrew prophet...
's visions. Such profound insights on the allegorical, anagogical and tropological senses of scripture are often lost in modern biblical exegesis that focuses too narrowly on the literal sense, the historical-critical method
Historical-grammatical method
The historical-grammatical method is a Christian hermeneutical method that strives to discover the Biblical author's original intended meaning in the text. It is the primary method of interpretation for many conservative Protestant exegetes who reject the so-called historical-critical method used...
.
See also
- Bruder Klaus Wikipedia page
- Play Nicolas de Flue written after World War II by Denis de Rougemont
Further reading
- Abel, Winfried, “The Prayer Book of St. Nicholas of Flue: Mystery of the Center”, Christiana Edition, Stein Am Rhein, 1999.
- Boos, Thomas, “Nicholas of Flue, 141-1487, Swiss Hermit and Peacemaker”, The Pentland Press, Ltd, Edinburgh, 1999.
- Collins, David J. "Turning Swiss: The Patriotism of the Holy Hermit Nicholas". In
- Kaiser, Lother Emanuel, “Nicholas of Flue-Brother Nicholas: Saint of Peace Throughout the World.” Editions du Signe, Strausbourg, 2002.
- Yates, Christina, “Brother Klaus: A Man of Two Worlds” The Ebor Press, York, England, 1989.
- “Brother Klaus: Our Companion Through Life” , Bruder-Kalusen-Stiftung-Sachseln, 2005.
- "The Transformed Berserker: The Union of Psychic Opposites" The Archetypal Dimensions of the Psyche. von Franz, Marie-Louise. Shambhala, 1997.
External links
- Tradition in Action, a Roman Catholic hagiography with commentary
- Bruder Klaus page at Sachseln Flüeli-Ranft Tourism Bureau
- Catholic Encyclopedia article
- Extensive bibliography and link collection
- Photo of his hermitage chapel at KLB Catholic Rural Peoples Movement
- The "Book" which he read, a discussion of the painted prayer meditation cloth
- The Lily and Horse from his vision
- Collection of sentences of spiritual direction (webpage maintained by the Benedictine Abbey "Abbaye Saint Benoît de Port-Valais," at Le Bouveret in Switzerland)
- Homily of Pope John Paul II at the Mass for Peace, Flüeli (1984)
- Image of "Bruder Klaus von Fluhe" icon written in 2003 in Byzantine style by artist in the Netherlands
