Cordula Wöhler | |
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 Wöhler, c. 1885 | |
| Born | (1845-06-17)17 June 1845 |
| Died | 6 February 1916(1916-02-06) (aged 70) |
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| Awards | Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice |
Cordula Wöhler, laterCordula Schmid, pseudonymCordula Peregrina (17 June 1845 – 6 February 1916) was a German author ofChristian poetry and hymns, whose "Segne du, Maria" is among the most popularMarian hymns in theGermanosphere.[1] Wöhler wrote the poem after she, the daughter of a Lutheran pastor inLichtenhagen, announced that she was converting to Catholicism, only to be expelled from her parental home and disowned by her family. Wöhler then moved toAustria-Hungary and became a recognised poet and author ofChristian literature.
Born inMalchin,Mecklenburg, Cordula Wöhler was the oldest daughter ofWilhelm Wöhler [de] (1814–1884) and his wife Cordula née Banck (1822–1900). When she was born, her father, aLutheran theologian,[2] was head of a school in Malchin. Her mother was the daughter of a merchant fromStralsund. When her father took office as pastor inLichtenhagen nearRostock in 1856, she found a 15th-centuryPietà in thevillage church [de]. Impressed by the sculpture, she developedMarian devotions.[2] She began a correspondence withpriests and religious authorsChristoph von Schmid andAlban Stolz. In August 1864, she travelled with her family inThuringia,Bavaria,Tyrol and Switzerland.[1] In Thuringia, she first attended theTridentine Mass, which impressed her deeply.[2] After intense correspondence with Fr. Stolz, and another vacation with her parents in traditionally Catholicsouthern Germany in 1868, she decided to convert to theCatholic Church.[2] When her parents became aware of it in March 1869, they objected and forbade it. In 1870, Wöhler declared that she was, aged 25, independent and determined to convert. In response, her parents disowned her and expelled her from the family home.[1][3]
Coping with this painful personal experience, she wrote a prayer hymn to Mary on 31 May 1870, "Segne du, Maria, segne mich, dein Kind" ("You, Mary, bless me, your child").[4] In 1916,Karl Kindsmüller (1876–1955), a teacher, church musician and composer of several sacred songs fromLower Bavaria, wrote a melody for it.[a][3]
On 10 July 1870, Wöhler became a member of the Catholic Church inFreiburg im Breisgau. She made a confession of faith to the bishopLothar von Kübel,[1] and receivedconfirmation three days later, and herfirst communion on 16 July 1870.[1] She lived in Tyrol from March 1871 where Lukas Tolpeit, thePfarrkurat ofEben am Achensee, had offered her a job. She wrote poems and religious essays. She then moved toSchwaz, where she worked in a pastry shop. After five months, she moved to live with a young couple on the nearby Freundsberg, where she wrote the poetry collection,Was das Ewige Licht erzählt. Gedichte über das allerheiligste Altarsakrament ("What the Eternal Light Relates. Poems about themost holy sacrament of the altar"). It appeared in 25 editions and established her recognition.[2] She published more religious prose and poetry, some under the pseudonym Cordula Peregrina.[1]
In 1876, Josef Anton Schmid fromOberstaufen requested a "pious poem" ("frommes Gedicht") from her for a memorial plaque for the JesuitJakob Rem. Schmid and Wöhler entered an intense correspondence, resulting in an engagement before they had met in person.[1] They married inRiezlern,Kleinwalsertal, and moved toBregenz.[4] She kept publishing under her maiden name. The couple moved toSchwaz in 1881,[2] where they bought a house and adopted two orphan girls.[4] She kept writing, and was active in the local parish together with her husband. The relationship with her birth family improved, with letters and occasional visits of her parents and her sister in Schwaz, but she never returned home.[2]
She died in Schwaz, and was buried next to her husband, who died a few months later, in the cemetery beside their parish church.[1] According to theepitaph, she was a recipient of thePro Ecclesia et Pontifice cross.
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