Saint Nicholas of Flue. Etching after J.W. Baumgärtner.

Saint Nicholas of Flüe was born in Flueli, Obwalden, Switzerland. His Latin name is Nicolaus de Rupe, and his German name is Bruder Klaus von Flueli. He was a farmer and politician before he became a hermit in the Ranft ravine, Obwalden. According to his legend, he ate no food for nineteen and a half years. He was beatified in 1669 and canonised in 1947. He is the patron saint of Switzerland. His visions and his prodigious memory have attracted the attention of psychologists