Sacred, Secular, or Fraudulent: Competing Representations of the Therese Neumann Phenomenon in Germany

Stigmatic Therese Neumann (1898-1962) constituted the most significant figure in a decades-long awakening of German faith in the miraculous during the mid-twentieth-century. At least six prominent examples of stigmata emerged from Catholic regions of Germany during the first half of the twentieth century and twelve new apparition sites devoted to visions of the Virgin Mary attracted followings from 1940 to 1954. None of these modern German mystics persevered as public figures like Therese Neumann. This paper argues that Therese Neumann became a contested sacred space in a power struggle between Church powerbrokers and a primarily powerless segment of churchgoers over access to spiritual influence. Although the German Catholic hierarchy and lay leadership initially branded Neumann an outcast, her inner circle’s rhetoric converged with resonant cultural tropes circulating in religious and public spheres in post-World War II Germany. Therefore, the Konnersreuth Circle ultimately succeeded in its Bourdieuian skirmish with a skeptical Church establishment.

This presentation contrasts the German reception of Neumann during the late Weimar Republic (1928-1933) and early Federal Republic (1949-1962) with other cases of stigmata and Marian visions. It assesses contested responses of secular journalists, Church leaders, and German pilgrims to Neumann as her secular and sacred image evolved over time in Church publications, independent religious pamphlets, and the tabloid press. While observers viewed Neumann alternately as a sacred figure, a fraud, and a pop culture curiosity, her inner circle successfully balanced challenge and deference to Church authority in order to simultaneously court support from zealous pilgrims, cautious Church officials, and mainstream public opinion. The Konnersreuth Circle became especially successful during the early years of the Federal Republic by emphasizing their anti-Nazi credentials during debates about Catholics under the Third Reich and Neumann’s austere lifestyle in the context of moral outrage over the perceived excess of post-1945 consumerism.