Saint Nicholas of Flue, hermit, very special saint, patron of Switzerland, left his family and 10 children
Saint Nicholas of Flue, hermit, very special saint, patron of Switzerland, left his family and 10 children
St. Nicholas of Flue - hermit, patron saint of Switzerland 1417-1487 - holiday on March 21 / in Switzerland it is celebrated on September 25 / 21.3.1417 to 21.3.1487, a saint with an extraordinary life destiny
Beatified in 1669 and canonized for 460 years - 1947 Pius XII He was declared blessed on March 8, 1669, as a saint on May 15, 1947. Bruder Klaus /shortened Nikolaus/
St. Nicholas - farmer, soldier-captain, husband and father of 10 children and finally a hermit and saint. He left his family and 10 children...and went to God. There is no such saint who would have such a dramatic and moving life as Nicholas of Flue.../Sachseln near Luzerne-Switzerland/ Flue was a mountain settlement in the Alps.
St. Nicholas was an extraordinary and controversial saint, because he left his family in order to live with God. The Church had to face many, complex questions from his life in order to make the right decision. Although Nicholas ensured his family did not suffer, he had the consent of his wife, he still had immature children, yet he decided to follow a strong voice that called him to solitude, a hermit life and service only to God. Certainly, questions arise as to why he married, if he already had a call to a spiritual life in him a long time ago. He had to participate in the war as 19 year old in 1436 and was a captain in the army, which temporarily changed his life. It was the war that clouded his youthful desires to live an ascetic life and devote himself to God. He married in 1447 and had a large family of 10 children, 5 boys and 5 girls .But after 16 years, his inner voice began to grow stronger and the call for a life with God was very strong. He prayed and meditated.He also had worldly functions - he was a judge, which he left in 1466, when he saw the bribing of judges. Caring for his family and children took up all his time, and he felt that he no longer had time for God, prayer, and meditation, which he internally longed for. he had the last child of 10, when he decided to leave his family. He experienced a lot of criticism, accusations and judgment from people and those around him. They thought he had lost his mind... But Mikuláš felt that all his strength and life was directed only towards security family, children, which was his status obligation, but on the other hand, he could no longer live like this. God's call was strong in him and he could no longer resist the voice of God who was calling him...when he decided to leave his family. He experienced a lot of criticism, accusations and judgment from people and those around him. They thought he had lost his mind... But Mikuláš felt that all his strength and life was directed only to the provision of his family, children, which was his social duty, but on the other hand, he could no longer continue to live like that. God's call was strong in him and he could no longer resist the voice of God who was calling him...when he decided to leave his family. He experienced a lot of criticism, accusations and judgment from people and those around him. They thought he had lost his mind... But Mikuláš felt that all his strength and life was directed only to the provision of his family, children, which was his social duty, but on the other hand, he could no longer continue to live like that. God's call was strong in him and he could no longer resist the voice of God who was calling him...
To leave and serve him in constant prayers, offerings, fasting and meditation. His life was running out, he was already a mature, 50-year-old man... Nicholas experienced mysterious, mystical revelations and a call from God himself. So the torturous battle raged in his soul.. .And so he decided to accept the mysterious, powerful call echoing from his soul. To leave everything behind and go into solitude and lead a life beyond human thought, difficult, austere and impossible only by human strength. who helped him overcome external obstacles. He experienced the touch of God and saw a glimpse of the glory of heaven and love in connection with God himself, and that could no longer be put off, thrown into the car. In his revelation, Nicholas saw, through a narrow gap in time, the immense glory and bliss of heaven and the love of God. In the apparitions and visions that came to him, he saw clearly, Man is only a grain of dust in the sea of the infinite universe and all time, and yet God devotes himself to him and remembers him. He is the Lord and Creator of the Earth, but also of infinite, distant, mysterious worlds, hidden in the flashes and faint light of the galaxy, which are so distant, that all humanity during its existence will not reach such distant worlds. And yet, God is also the master of this universe...a mysterious world hidden in the infinite distances and in the sea of time. Also St. Peter the apostle had a family, a wife and a daughter, but Jesus calls him and Peter leaves his family through great pain and sets out on an uncertain journey, trusting only in the power of Jesus. Even the apostle Philip leaves his wife and 2 daughters and follows Jesus.
The amazing and tragic internal struggle taking place in Mikuláš's soul finally ended... with his decision to leave everything behind and go alone to God. He had to leave his weeping, faithful wife Dorota, who only had the last born child in her arms, their immature children, who still needed the care and love of the father, the farming-farm, which required the owner and the offices he held. There were only 2 sons who were adults. And to go against all obstacles and obstacles to the desolate valley of the rocky abyss, hidden between the sky-high mountains of the Alps, to live out his life there for almost 20 years. In solitude, in prayers and meditations, his soul finally found peace and tranquility. He lived in immense difficult conditions for the rest of his life. In the heat of summer days, in wild storms and deafening thunders, in the cold and rain of spring and autumn, in fogs and gloom, in blizzards and storms, in snow and frost. In the darkness of night under the twinkling of stars, in the dim, pale light of the moon, Mikuláš prayed to God in the silence of the night. But a huge flame of love for God flared up in his heart, and thus he was able to survive in fasting and prayer for so many years. Many people thought that he had gone mad, lost his sanity, he went completely crazy... Many condemned him for leaving a family that needed him so much. He faced huge criticism that an ordinary person wouldn't be able to handle it... but he persevered and stayed. He also had a great gift from God to reconcile the hostile parties. A terrible civil war was about to break out in the disputes. Nicholas came out of the hermitage and had a fiery speech to the enemy parties, so powerful that they finally abandoned the fratricidal war. Thus he saved thousands of men, fathers of families, young men and he saved crying widows and their surviving families from misery and hunger. Thousands of people thanked him for peace, and already during his lifetime many regarded him as a living, miraculous saint. If he had stayed with his family and destroyed the call of God in himself, then there would be no mention of him in history and his name would be lost in the abyss of time. This is how he became an important saint, the patron of a rich Christian country such as Switzerland. His memory lives on in his birthplace and in the church. Because he found God, for whom his soul longed immensely. touched and he could no longer live without his eternal love for God.
His drama of internal struggles and decisions resulted in the final decision to leave his family and start living only for God. His loving wife Dorota, seeing how he was struggling, gave her consent to leave, and his eldest sons promised their father that they would take care of the family and the farm. the remaining life of 19 years was constant renunciation, prayer, fasting in a cave at the bottom of the abyss, which could only be reached by a narrow path in the rocks. His dramatic life fate also reminds many people who had a call to a spiritual state...but for some external reasons they got married or divorced and the subsequent marriage, family and care of children extremely strained and killed them internally. Because the old voices echo in them calling for a spiritual life. But there is no going back here, they have to fulfill their status obligations - marriage, providing for the family and raising children... that is what God wants from them and they will be judged for it. It is possible that in later life, when there is a family and children already fully secured to devote themselves more to spiritual life ... in order to fill their soul's hunger for God and satisfy an ancient, unfulfilled calling. There are cases where even an older widower man graduates to become a priest and has a family. But these are exceptional cases. Even in in history, there were some cases where the father of the family became a widower and raised the children, and only when they were adults did he study to become a priest,later he became a bishop and even a pope... Miukuláš became famous for his ascetic, ascetic life and love until Catholic Switzerland adopted him as its patron.
God's call knows no boundaries. And so the call also reached Mikuláš, husband and father of 10 children. One day he had a mystical vision in which a draft horse harnessed to a plow was grazing a lily. It was a source of knowledge for him that worldly concerns were absorbing his spiritual life. He therefore came to the decision to dedicate himself to a completely contemplative life. As a teenage boy of 16, he had a vision of a "tall and beautiful tower" in the nearby Ranft gorge. He saw himself in the tower. This strengthened his desire for a hermit life.
Mikuláš was a special, extraordinary exception among the saints, because he definitively decided on a complete ascetic life only when he was 50 years old and was a husband and father of 10 children, he was a landlord and also held municipal functions, a judge in the village of Flue in Switzerland. Dorothy, provided for his family and children... he left the farm to his eldest son and said goodbye to his family and went to live in a cave located in an abyss. There he lived in fasting and prayers for 19 years from 1467 to 1487. He died on March 21, 1487. He was canonized only 460 years after his death .
ST. MIKULÁŠ Z FLÜE- Bruder Klaus the hermit (1417 - 1487)
In the person of St. Nicholas of Flüe (Nikolaus von Flüe in German) is an extraordinary personality who already earned general admiration during his lifetime. This St. Mikuláš was born, lived and died in Switzerland, where he is generally known under the name Bruder Klaus - brother Klaus (folk form of the name Nikolaus - Mikuláš). He came from the mountain canton of Obwalden in central Switzerland, where he was born in 1417 in the village of Flüeli near the town of Sachseln. People in this region made a living from mountain agriculture and cattle breeding. They mostly lived very modestly. Mikuláš himself came from a more prosperous peasant family. Despite this, he never went to school, and even if he got a little familiar with the alphabet during his lifetime, he never knew how to read or write properly. From early youth he had a penchant for prayer in solitude. It was not difficult for him to fast. Later, fasting became an important part of his ascetic life. While still a young man, he met the prior of the Benedictine monastery in nearby Engelberg, Matej from Bolsheim, who told him about the lay mystical movement "Friends of God" in Alsace. As a teenage boy, he had a vision of a "tall and handsome tower" in the nearby Ranft Gorge. He saw himself in the tower. This strengthened his desire for a hermit life. But Mikuláš's hermit dreams faded after the outbreak of the "old Zurich war" in 1436. The young man was drafted into the army. In addition, he took part in the conquest of the canton of Thurgau (from the Habsburgs), in the rank of captain. On this expedition, he saved the Dominican monastery of St. Katharinen, when the soldiers wanted to set it on fire because Austrian soldiers hid in it. He generally led his friends to good behavior and spared his enemies as much as he could. As a 30-year-old respectable farmer and citizen, Mikuláš in 1447 he decided to get married. He married a 16-year-old brave girl Dorota Wyss from the nearby village of Oberwill. They had a happy and fruitful marriage that produced ten children: five boys and five girls. Mikuláš sincerely loved his wife and children. But the desire for a hermit life persisted inside him. It was not weakened by his exemplary care for the economy and his family, nor by the important public positions to which he was elected because of his extraordinary intelligence. From 1463, his inner turmoil intensified and began to manifest itself externally. A certain priest advised him to meditate on Christ's suffering. That satisfied him for a time. But not for long. He began to withdraw from public life. In In 1466 he resigned as a judge when he saw that his colleagues were accepting bribes and he could not prevent an unjust sentence. As he later confessed to a certain monk, his wife and children gradually became a burden to him. After consultation with his spiritual leader, pastor Haim (Heino) am Grund and after long prayers, Mikuláš in In 1467, 20 years after the marriage, he decided to talk about everything with his wife and separate from the family. Dorota knew about her husband's meditations and long prayers that he did in addition to the common family prayer. But she never dreamed that a responsible and caring husband could separate from a family with ten dependent children. The oldest was not even 20 years old, while the youngest was just born then. How could he leave them like this?! However, she gradually accepted the man's pleas and explanations and, trusting in God's providence, gave him the required consent. Mikuláš tried to put things in order at least a little before leaving. He handed over the farm to his eldest son. Relatives were supposed to help the wife in taking care of the children. The family was not to forget the poor either; she was to give them the yield from one field every year. Finally, after the end of the field work on the holiday of St. Gala (October 16), the 50-year-old farmer took himself away from his family. For the journey, he put on a coarse hermit's robe, which his good wife had woven for him as a farewell. Mikuláš went northwest to Alsace. He probably wanted to join the "Friends of God" who had centers in Basel, Strasbourg and Cologne n. By the Rhine. However, our pilgrim only came to the city of Liestal before Basel. There he had a strange vision: the whole city and everything in it appeared red. This discouraged him from continuing his journey. After a conversation with a certain reasonable peasant and after a painful vision the following night, he became convinced that he should serve God in his homeland. And so he returned to where he came from.
He lived for a short time on his mountain property called "Klisterli". Finally, he settled about 300 m from his house in a steep ravine called Ranft. It was the same ravine he had seen in his youth with the tower. Here he lived in prayer and complete fasting for 19 years. His only food was the Eucharist at St. reception. The incredible fact of continuous fasting was investigated by the surrounding people, church officials and authorities and found that this incomprehensible phenomenon is a historical fact that cannot be doubted. The fellow citizens decided to build a hermitage and a chapel for their unusual native. Both were consecrated to him in April 1469 by Bishop Hermann of Constance. Mikuláš, or as he was called from now on - Bruder Klaus became quite emaciated by constant fasting, so that some people were frightened when they saw him. But otherwise he was fresh. Not only did he perform long prayers and other religious acts, but he was attentive to all the problems that people came to him with. These were not only questions of spiritual life, but also practical daily problems, and even important political decisions. The name of brother Klaus became known throughout Switzerland and beyond.
An unusual situation arose. Brother Klaus completely renounced everything worldly: family, possessions, even food, in order to devote himself completely to God. But on the other hand, in this separation and God's service, he lived among people and helped them in God's name. So his wife, natives from a wide area, men and women from all walks of life, church representatives, politicians from Austria, Switzerland, Milan came to him for advice and help. By abandoning everything and renouncing personal ambitions, he won the general unbounded confidence. People admired him not only for his reasonableness and objective, unbiased judgment, but also for his prophetic clairvoyance, with which he saw into the depths of things. His compatriots showed special trust in him and they were not disappointed. When in In 1473 Switzerland was threatened by Austria, brother Klaus mediated "eternal peace" between the two countries. Similarly in In 1482, he prevented a war in which the Swiss wanted to attack the city of Constance. But he gained the greatest merits for Switzerland in December 1481, when the deputies at the session of the Diet in Stans had an irreconcilable divorce and thus parted ways. Practically, it meant the collapse of the Swiss Confederation and a merciless civil war. That's when pastor Haimo am Grund remembered Brother Klaus. He quickly ran to him and soon returned with his suggestions. The most difficult thing for him was to reassemble the hostile deputies. When they finally got together, they had no difficulty in accepting the hermit's proposals. Their result was not only a momentary reconciliation, but also the creation of a legal basis for Switzerland, which was valid until 1798. The Diet in Stans specially drew up and noted in the minutes a thank you to brother Klaus. In this context, the Swiss awarded him the honorary title "Pater patriae" - "Father of the Fatherland" and "Helvetiae pacificator" Word of Brother Klaus's statesmanship and conciliatory skills spread quickly. Hostile cities and princes asked him for help and mediation. He answered them with letters that he dictated to scribes. Instead of a signature, he used a seal on which was the image of the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus in her hands. Around the picture was the inscription "B. Claus von Flüe".
In March 1487, brother Mikuláš was attacked by sharp pains in his tendons and bones. This patient man, who did not complain about anything even in the greatest difficulties, suddenly writhed and wailed in pain. After eight days, St. reception. When it was brought to him, he calmed down and with prayers of thanks, stretched out on the ground, said goodbye to earthly life. He died on March 21, 1487. He was buried next to the parish church. The news of the death of Brother Klaus caused great sadness not only in Switzerland, but also in Austria. In the St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, the monarch with the entire court and over 100 priests took part in the funeral services. The great respect that the Swiss showed Brother Klaus during his life continued even after his death. Already in the first days, extraordinary healings and pardons took place at his grave, which are mentioned in the records of the parish church in Sachseln from 1488. In the same year, a certain canon from Beromünster compiled the biography and office (prayers for the breviary) of Brother Klaus, because his early canonization was expected. In In 1501, i.e. 14 years after his death, a certain Heinrich Wölflin from Bern compiled a biography at the request of the government of the canton of Obwalden, which spoke purely " about the facts confirmed by oath by eye and ear witnesses" . However, due to various circumstances, the process of beatification and canonization of brother Klaus was delayed for centuries. Only in 1669 Pope Clement IX. allowed his public veneration in the canton of Obwalden. Pope Clement X in In 1761, he extended this permission to the whole of Switzerland and to the diocese of Kostna. And finally, in May 1947, Pope Pius XII. declared brother Klaus as a saint and the main patron of Switzerland. His liturgical memorial falls on the anniversary of his death, ie March 21. But in Switzerland, his holiday is celebrated on September 25.
Museum in the town of Sachseln near Luzern-Switzerland - the museum of brother Klaus / Nicholas of Flue/
BIOGRAPHY Born Swiss. He actively participated in public affairs, fought in two wars. He got married, had 10 children and became a hermit at the age of 50. However, he remained an excellent councilor who was able to reconcile individuals and entire cantons and thus prevent a civil war. The credibility of his life in connection with God is also confirmed by the fact that for more than 19 years he lived only on the Eucharist.
BIOGRAPHY FOR MEDITATION
HEAD OF THE FAMILY, REPENTANT AND RESTORER OF PEACE
He was born on March 21, 1417 in Flüe near Sachseln in the Obwalden region (in the then confederation of eight cantons of central Switzerland). His father Henrich Löwenbrugger (Leopontini) is of Italian origin. He was a respected farmer and held a position in the administration of the canton. Mother Emma Roberto (Ruobert) came from Wolfenschiessen. Mikuláš (Nikolas) excelled in piety from childhood, and at the age of 16 he had an extraordinary mystical experience on the mountain cliff of Ranft, which left him with a desire for a deeper spiritual life in solitude. Although, perhaps due to the amount of work on the farm, he never learned to read or write, he was soon respected for his wise counsel. He also actively participated in local politics with his father.
At the age of 21, he became a soldier in 1438 and participated in several battles. In the 15th century, Switzerland consisted of many cantons, which often fought with each other. After his military duties, Mikuláš returned to the farm, but later, already married, he had to go to war once more in 1460. This was because Archduke Sigismund of Austria was laying claim to Swiss territory and had provoked a retaliatory invasion of the canton of Thurgau. Mikuláš commanded about 100 soldiers. After the capture of Diessenhofen, the Tyroleans fled to the nearby Dominican monastery of Katharinental. Here in the monastery, according to the convention of Sempach, they were supposed to be safe from enemy fire. Nevertheless, there was shooting. Therefore, Nicholas rushed to the cross and prayed for everyone who was there. He then argued with the security guards about the illegality of the proceedings and achieved
In the biography, we return to Mikuláš's civil life, in which he continued his successful agricultural activities and involvement in public affairs. He was also elected to the village council and as a judge.
His parents apparently arranged a marriage for him in 1445, and Mikuláš felt obliged to listen. At the age of 28, he married Dorota Wyss (or Wissling) from Sachseln. Both then got along and had 10 children together: Ján, Rudolf, Walter, Henrich, Mikuláš, Dorota, Markéta, Katarína, Veronika and one other little girl who died as a baby. Of their sons, Ján was elected Landmann (president of the canton's government council) in Unterwalden, and the youngest son Mikuláš studied at the University of Basel and then supposedly also in Paris and Padua. He became a priest and then parish priest in Sachseln.
The mystical experiences from the Ranft cliff came to Father Mikuláš's mind more and more together with the growing desire for a deeper connection with God somewhere in solitude. He felt a call to serve God in a different, ascetic way of life. As a judge, he conducted amicable proceedings and handed down fair decisions. After one such decision against a very powerful family, which appealed to another court in 1465, where it then wrongly won against a humble peasant, Mikuláš withdrew from public life in protest. He then allowed himself to be guided more easily by God's call, asking for three special graces for full surrender and as assurance of the correctness of the path. The first was the consent of his wife Dorothy and his eldest children, so that the family and everything he felt responsible for would be well taken care of. In the second place, he asked to be spared the temptation to return. As a third confirming grace, he asked to be able to live without taking food. His first wish was granted, even though it was very difficult for his wife, as their tenth child was born a few months ago. The neighbors were outraged by his decision. With Mikuláš, it was practically a decision to say yes to God and let him guide you. However, he had to learn that too.
On 16 October 1467, the fifty-year-old Mikuláš, after making his wife the head of the family, dressed in a gray-brown tunic made by her, said goodbye to his dearest and set off on his journey barefoot with a rosary in his hand. He went out in the direction of Alsace and probably wanted to go to Strasbourg, because there was the seat of the "Friends of God" movement, founded in the last century by Ján Tauler and Henrich Suso, among whom his mother had once wished to see him. But it was not the right decision, as he learned from a friend on the way and from God's redirection. Originally, he thought he needed to get as far away from his family as possible, so he came to Lichstall. Before crossing the border, he spent the night with a hospitable farmer, who explained to him that the Swiss there had a reputation for being wild soldiers and were considered enemies. At night, he had a mystical experience that also directed him home, and that's why he was coming back.
At the beginning of the journey back, which was said to take 13 days, he had a sharp pain in his intestines and was surrounded by light. Despite the fact that he didn't eat anything after that, he didn't get hungry and thirsty even later. When he came to Obwalden in his region, where he wanted to make a shelter from branches, relatives came to warn him that he was in a risky place. He therefore chose a place on his own property in Ranft, where he had a mystical experience at the age of 16. Here, in a lonely place above a narrow gorge, he began to build a hermitage, which he had from boards thanks to the help of the local residents, and later a chapel was added to it. He brought a stone under his head and slept only 2 to 3 hours a day. He spent the rest of his time in prayer. On Sundays, he went to the parish church to participate in Holy Mass, before which he received the Sacrament of Reconciliation and then Holy Communion. which was otherwise only practiced four times a year. As the reputation of him spread, so did doubts, and the bishop of Kostní sent his assistant and vicar, Tomáš Weldner, as early as 4/27/1468 to check the issue of Mikuláš's diet. The hermit was to answer the question of what was the most important virtue, and when he named obedience, he was commanded to eat the food brought out of obedience. Mikuláš fulfilled the order and after a while he began to writhe in pain. This convinced the bishop and other persons. Pastor Mikuláš confessed that Jesus in the sacrament of the altar is his food, drink, health and medicine. Mikuláš fulfilled the order and after a while he began to writhe in pain. This convinced the bishop and other persons. Pastor Mikuláš confessed that Jesus in the sacrament of the altar is his food, drink, health and medicine. Mikuláš fulfilled the order and after a while he began to writhe in pain. This convinced the bishop and other persons. Pastor Mikuláš confessed that Jesus in the sacrament of the altar is his food, drink, health and medicine.
He received visitors in the afternoon. He greeted them with a fresh smile and a special empathy for their needs. Basically, it was about receiving prayers for them, giving not only comfort, but also verbal help. He filled the room with guests, helped settle disputes and restore marriages. He pointed out that mercy is worth more than justice. His charisma also included foreseeing threats to faith. He is said to have left the hermitage only three times, apart from trips to religious services, whenever it was necessary for the good of his country. For example, when civil war between the 8 member states of the Swiss Confederation was imminent in 1481, he took care of the reconciliation of the Swiss cantons in Stans, and for his contribution to the Diet of Stans, he is still remembered as the "Father of the Fatherland". When in the following year the dispute between Constance and the confederation was settled over the right of Thurgau,
His personal prayer next to the holy rosary included the words of his constant request: "My God, take away from me everything that prevents me from coming to You, that could turn me away from You." Give me everything that leads me to You. I will take away my self and give me to you!"
In the last month of his life, he was found completely exhausted by the penitent life of penance and weakened by the suffering he sacrificed for others. He nevertheless refused to leave the hermitage. In the last eight days he suffered greatly, he received the viaticum (sacraments for the journey to eternity) and then died peacefully in his hermitage surrounded by his own family on his 70th birthday. He was buried in Sachseln. He was beatified on
1/2/1649 by Pope Innocent X in the form of confirmation of the cult and canonized on 15/5/1947 by Pope Pius XII.
CHAPTER OF FAMILIES, REPENTANT AND RESTORER OF PEACE
COMMITMENT, PRAYER I will evaluate my respect for the Eucharist and, if possible, I will go to adore the tabernacle.
God, You alone are holy, You alone are the source of all goodness; help us through the intercession of St. Nicholas de Flüe, let us arrange our lives according to Your will, so that we do not deprive ourselves of participating in Your glory. We ask for this through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, because he lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever.
Saint Nicholas of Flüe, known as brother Klaus, was a Swiss hermit. He is the patron saint of Switzerland.
Date and place of birth: 21 March 1417, Unterwalden
Fascinating novel about the life of St. Nicholas of Flüe presents a picture of a man whose vocation is unique. However, it was able to fully develop thanks to his selfless wife Dorothea, who perfectly respected her husband and was convinced that God spoke to her through him and revealed his will to her. Saint John Paul II. while visiting the parish church in the town of Sachseln, where Mikuláš is buried, he highlighted the personality of Dorothy. He said that her holiness was no less than that of her husband.
Ranft Valley
Only a person who lives in a constant atmosphere of conversion and seeking God's will can evoke such admiration and respect as Saint Nicholas of Flüe (1417-1487). A loving husband and caring father of ten children, he feels the call to leave his wife and children and devote himself completely to God in a hermit way of life. The man of God, sought after for his wisdom and holiness, becomes a counselor of the poor and the rich, significantly prevents civil war in his homeland and contributes to the creation of the Swiss Confederation. He is one of the most famous and important figures in Switzerland, who is still worshiped as the "father of the country" and is addressed familiarly as brother Klaus.
Sample: from the book
In the house of the Flüe family Dorotea was preparing woolen stockings. She was kneeling in front of the chest when Santa Claus entered. He looked at her for a while, admiring the care with which she puts and sorts things for everyone. When she checked her husband's stockings, she discovered a hole in them. "This still needs to be done," he says, placing them next to each other on the floor. Mikuláš, however, gently tells her: "No, Dorothea, you don't have to prepare anything for me." I think it's time for me to leave.” She dropped what she was holding and raised her head. Kneeling like this, she looked so pitiful that Mikuláš felt compassion. "It is necessary, Dorothea. You know that my love remains with you." Dorotea struggled to get up. For a moment she thought she was going to fall off, but she got up. Can he show his own grief when his suffering is a thousand times more cruel? "When will you leave, Nicholas?" He answered: "Tomorrow is the day of St. Gall, who has always enjoyed great respect among the Swiss. I can see that I have to leave tomorrow. Everything is arranged. You have everything you need, the winter won't surprise you and you won't miss me." "I'll always miss you, Santa Claus," sobbed Dorotea. He looked at her, took her soft hands in his powerful ones and said, “I know, my dear friend. But you fulfilled my request. For me and for you, it will be the sacrifice of a lifetime." He put his face in Dorothea's hands and hot tears flowed from his eyes. She could hear the wild beating of his heart. My God, what a parting—spontaneous, free, and yet so horribly painful! He certainly did not decide about it himself: a higher power tore him from his family. When Nicholas raised his head again, immense pain was reflected in his eyes. Motherly compassion awoke in Dorothea's heart with great despondency, and she began to stroke her husband's hair tenderly. When Nicholas cries, a powerful man, a warrior, a rough peasant, he needs tenderness. The future will give her enough time to mourn this separation. Shouldn't she, while she's still here, give him the last testimony that love dictates to a wife's heart: to be strong and brave in these hours of martyrdom? "Nicholas, courage! The one who calls you will hold you. I have children and also the certainty that we will meet again in heaven. It won't take long at all: life is so short!” Nicholas slowly sat down on the chest. His face was transformed. There was a fire in his gaze that Dorotea had never seen. "Finally! It happened! Thank you, Dorothea! God himself wanted you to become my wife. What wife would be able to hold me like you and finally accept this departure for the salvation of my soul?! Dorothea, thank you so much!” She blushed, confused and at the same time happy that Mikuláš felt such love and gratitude for her in this supreme moment. Then there was a deep silence between them again. The smell of lavender and thyme rose from the old chest. Dorotea picked up the things that were left on the ground. Mikuláš also got up and looked around the room. "Are you looking for something?" she asked. "No, I just want to feast my eyes on our dear home once more. I want to keep forever the memory of the house I built to shelter our happiness.”
* 1417 Flüeli near Sachseln, Obwalden, Switzerland † March 21, 1487 Ranftschlucht, today St. Niklausen near Sachseln, Obwalden, Switzerland
Patron Saint of Switzerland
Attributes: hermit's garment, staff, rosary
Sv. Nicholas of Flüe, altarpiece from 1492, Brata Klaus museum in Sachseln
St. Mikuláš was born near the town of Sachseln in the canton of Obwalden, in today's Switzerland. He got his name from the river Flüe, which flows near his birthplace. He came from a peasant family. From an early age, he had a fondness for solitude and silent prayer. Around 1440, he was called to the war against Zurich. Instead of fighting, he preferred to hide in the bushes and pray. After the war he married Dorota Wyss and together they had ten children. In 1459, he became a councilor in the canton of Obwalden and at the same time the mayor of the village where he lived. Everyone respected him, he was known as a fair and wise person. He refused the political career that was urged on him. In 1460, he was again called to the war against Thurgau. During those years, however, he still carried a desire for silence and solitude.
When he first confided in his wife about his desire to become a hermit, she refused in horror. In 1467, with her consent, Mikuláš renounced all the functions he held, left his family and went into solitude as a hermit. His youngest child was one year old at the time. Fearing that his acquaintances would not understand him, he wanted to go first to Basel and join the community of brothers that existed there at that time. However, on the way to Waldenburg, he received a mystical vision, on the basis of which he returned and began to search for the place that he had in mind since his childhood. His search took him far from his home to Alpe Christerli near Melchtal, but later he continued to search. He found his place, paradoxically, not far from home - in Ranftschlucht, where he lived a simple life of prayer and penance. He slept on a board with a stone under his head as a pillow. He lived without food for 19 years. He only received the Eucharist,
Chapel on the site of the hermitage of St. Nicholas
Many people came to him to ask him for advice. It was also visited by politicians and representatives of civil life. At the meeting in Stans in 1481, he was the mediator of peace. He thus prevented a bloody civil war between the Swiss cantons.
Many watched his life out of curiosity and suspected him of various things. However, the testimony of his life and the fruit of his actions finally convinced them of Mikuláš's good intentions. He died on March 21, 1487. He is buried in the parish church in Sachseln. A chapel now stands on the site of his hermitage. The grave and the chapel are among the most visited places of pilgrimage in Switzerland.
Nicholas was one of the last great mystics of the Middle Ages. At the center of his meditations is the suffering of Jesus Christ, the Eucharist and the mystery of the Holy Trinity. He was declared blessed on March 8, 1669, and a saint on May 15, 1947.
The town of Sachselm Sachseln is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Obwalden. It lies approximately 3 kilometers south of the capital of the canton, Sarnen, at an altitude of 483 meters above sea level. Over 5,000 inhabitants live here.
