The Collected Works of Marie-Louise von Franz is a 28-volume Magnum Opus from one of the leading minds in Jungian psychology. Volume 6 heralds translations of material never before available in English. It explores the profound visions of two ground-breaking saints in the Catholic Church, Saint Niklaus von Flüe and Saint Perpetua.
Tonight, we will discuss Saint Niklaus von Flüe, the patron saint of Switzerland, who was held in the highest esteem by both C.G. Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz. Jung even declared him the “patron saint of psychotherapy,” due to the Saint’s deep inward reflections and profound experiences. His visions reportedly began while still in his mother’s womb and continued until his death. Von Franz saw Niklaus as the shadow brother of Christ and wrote of him as the “alchemical Anthropos,” a universal man. His visions were a profound evolution of Christian mysticism. Join us as we present material never-before published in English from Volume 6 in The Collected Works of Marie-Louise von Franz.
At the age of eighteen, while still in high school, von Franz met Jung at his Bolingen Tower. She later described this as the most decisive encounter of her life. She entered analysis with him months later, completed her doctorate in classical philology, and began seeing her first analysands soon after. She was wholeheartedly dedicated to the unconscious, both in her own life and that of her analysands. She developed a far-reaching expertise in fairytales, alchemy, synchronicity, and numbers. She is estimated to have personally analyzed over 65,000 dreams. She was a prolific writer and a highly sought-after teacher. According to renowned Jungian analyst and scholar, Murray Stein, “Listening to von Franz lecture was a numinous experience. I thought God was speaking. She seemed to know everything. In an amazing fashion and without a text, she ranged over history West and East, mythology, philosophy, anthropology, and a host of other specialized areas. Never in my training had I heard such far-reaching and profound reflections.”
