Catholicism is essentially monastic. Monks deny the flesh, the Devil and Self to draw nearer to Christ and to amplify Him in their hearts. Priests and religious follow this model to a greater or lesser degree.
A Catholic hermit living in poverty is what comes to mind when you think of a typical holy human. A monk in cloisters. A living saint. Know any locally? Maybe one? Maybe none? Thought so.
Contrast that with every other religion you know.
Orthodox Christianity allows a kind of divorce. A married man can be a priest. The Virgin Mary was not immaculately conceived. She did not ascend bodily into Heaven. Orthodox religious and priests can be holy, but their nationalist churches and easing of doctrine is where the rot began officially in Christianity.
Protestants allow divorce. They have, most seriously, dropped the sacrament of Confession. Their priestly orders are invalid; they don’t themselves think their priests are set apart from the rest of us by their ordination. They believe that ‘once saved, always saved’, which negates spiritual exercise. A protestant is not what comes to mind when you try to imagine a holy man. They, themselves don’t think asceticism is worthwhile.
Islam allows multiple wives. It has no monastic tradition I’m aware of. Muslims can morally make war on non-muslims and take their property, their women and their lives. It claims it is the final product of a line from Moses to Christ but rejects central tenets of Christianity. A muslim, even a Sufi mystic, is not what comes to mind when you try to imagine a holy man.
Hinduism and Buddhism. Now, here is where it gets interesting. Sadhus and Buddhist monks certainly look the part. But who or what do they believe in? No god, no God, or, a wide variety of gods, and mystical practices to go with that. Producing … men who can produce low level magical effects and personality change, but, that’s about it. No one is raised from the dead in the flesh, no one is cured of incurable diseases, permanently.
Paganism. Think about any occultist you know. That’s paganism: a man choosing to worship a created thing, or himself, or treat with demons. Holy? Ha ha.
Holy. Who is holy? Holiness is in the gift of God. ‘Sanctus’ is what the seraphim sing when they circle the Throne. Those beings of vast and unimaginable power are compelled to sing this word in the Presence of the Lord Most High. He embodies it and is its source.
In whom do you see it in your locality? In whom was it seen in the past?
Catholicism is interesting because it denies the world and seeks God, through Christ. All other religions embrace the world to a greater or lesser degree.