Last Updated on August 3, 2022 by pg@petergamma.org
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche wash called «His Holiness», also the Dalai Lama is called «His Holiness». But what does «holy» mean? Before some is declared as a holy person by the Catholic Church, it has to be confirmed that he has performed several miracles. There is also a definition that a holy person is someone who cares about the souls of of other people.
Khyentse Rinpoche wished to stay in solitary retreat for his hole life, but Dilgos teacher did not allow him realize his vision. The case was quite different in the case of the Brother Klaus in Switzerland:
Brother Klaus or Nikolaus von der Flühe (* 1417 in Flüeli , Obwalden ; † March 21, 1487 in Ranft ) was an influential Swiss hermit, ascetic and mystic, previously a mountain farmer, politician, judge and soldier. He lived as a wealthy farmer for the time, was a councilor for the canton and a judge in his community.
In October 1467 – the youngest child was not yet a year old, the eldest son Hans was already twenty, so that he could support the family as a farmer – Niklaus left his family with the consent of his wife to become a hermit.
In his hermitage, as Brother Klaus, he led an intense prayer life. The focus of his reflections was the immersion in the suffering of Christ. Again and again he is said to have been haunted by intense visions. It is said that for the last 19 years of his life he did not eat anything apart from Holy Communion and only drank water.
Niklaus von Flüe became widely known as a pastor and spiritual adviser not only to the farmers, but also as an adviser to foreign heads of state in 15th-century Europe.
According to the Historical Lexicon of Switzerland, his mediating influence on the Stanser Verkommnis is now considered proven: in 1481, there was a serious conflict between urban and rural locations.The collapse of the Swiss confederation threatened.
In the night of December 22, the pastor of Stans, Heimo Amgrund, went to see Niklaus von Flüe and came back with advice that is still unknown today. The priest caused the councilors to meet again and conveyed to them the hermit’s secret message. As a result, the councilors came to a solution after just two hours. There was a renewed federal agreement with the admission of the cantons of Friborg and Solothurn to the Confederation.
The advice «Don’t make the fence too wide!» and the maxim of neutrality “Do not interfere in foreign affairs!” were attributed to him years after his death.
Miracle of Waldenburg
On May 13, 1940, Switzerland feared a German attack. A large, brightly shining hand appeared in the sky above the town of Waldenburg . People thought of the protective hand of the state patron Brother Klaus, and they spoke of the “Miracle of Waldenburg”. Switzerland was spared from the war.
Now, it was confirmed, that Brother Klaus has performed several miracles, he was considered the patron saint of Switzerland, and the door was open for him to become a holy person, he became a canonized in 1947 .
from Wikipedia: