Katharina Von Bora Part Three

Katharina Von Bora

Widowhood, and Death

The death of her husband of 20 happy years was a sudden and hard blow to Katie. Dr. Luther had gone to Mansfeld to settle a dispute among the princes. On the return journey he became ill and stopped to rest in Eisleben, the town of his birth almost 63 years earlier. There he died, in the morning hours of February 18, 1546 among friends and his three sons. After he died, she wrote “He gave so much of himself in service not only to one town or to one country, but to the whole world. Yes, my sorrow is so deep that no words can express my heartbreak, and it is humanly impossible to understand what state of mind and spirit I am in . . . I can neither eat nor drink, not even sleep . . . God knows that when I think of having lost him, I can neither talk nor write in all my suffering.” She had to rely on friends of Martin to help support her and the children. Among all her trials after her dear husband's death, nothing disturbed Katie Luther more than the thought of her little family breaking up. Chancellor Brück insisted that the boys be taken from their home and given a proper education. Katie fought tooth and nail until the chancellor gave up on the idea.

Four months later she had to abandon her house at the outbreak of the Schmalkaldic war, when the Prince of Wittenberg was defeated. She returned the year after, to find desolation. Her farms had been along the roads that both armies had used. Her animals were gone and the buildings were burned to the ground. She was forced to go into debt, borrowing 1,000 gulden to rebuild. In order to add to her income she took into her home boarders from among the students of the university.

She stayed in Wittenberg until the black plague broke out, in addition to a harvest failure forced her to leave the city once again. When she was leaving, the cart she was on was involved in a bad accident, that seriously injured her. She died in Torgau about three months later on December 20, 1552 at the age of fifty-three and was buried at Torgau's Saint Mary's Church, far from her husband's grave in Wittenberg. She is reported to have said on her deathbed, "I will stick to Christ as a burr to cloth."

Katharina's contribution to the reformation was behind the scenes—supporting and challenging her husband and caring for her family. Her life showed that to serve God you don't always have to be in the lime light, but sometimes, the most influence would be in the shadows.  Katharina also provided a new example of what it means to be a woman dedicated to God—not cloistered in a convent but unselfishly serving her family and the church.


I hope y'all have enjoyed this one!