Comparative Biographies of German Catholic Women: Therese Neumann, Marianne Dirks, and Luise Rinser

Despite their shared religious identity, three women could not be more different from one another than Therese Neumann (1898-1962), Marianne Dirks (1913-1993), and Luise Rinser (1911-2002). Neumann exhibited the wounds of the stigmata every Friday for decades and was venerated by millions of pilgrims, despite her rejection by most bishops; Dirks emerged as a lay institutionalist seeking influence within the Catholic Women’s Association and the Central Committee for German Catholics often in the shadow of her well-known husband, Walter; and Rinser pursued a career as a writer, journalist, and Green Party activist while maintaining a Catholic identity despite publicly rejecting several Church teachings. Their lives were separate but intertwined; Rinser wrote about Neumann with admiration and Dirks and Rinser were noteworthy in their simultaneous reporting about Vatican II. Comparing their biographies offers a unique viewpoint on the intersection between religion and women in German history. Their diverse yet overlapping lives illustrate the spectrum of experience, sense of religiosity, and opportunities for agency of religious women in the twentieth century.

Most studies about Catholic women in Central Europe research institutional, political, or regional subcultures. This presentation widens the lens to simultaneously examine different regional traditions, political orientations, and positionality as factors in women’s choices surrounding religion in the twentieth century. On the other hand, the paper narrows the field of analysis to use the granular detail of biography to better parse the particularities of feminine spiritualities. By focusing on collective biography, this paper places emphasis on interconnectedness, spirituality, and agency. The writings and contingent choices of these women will be analyzed in comparison to shed light on the ways individual women formulated their own spiritualities and sought avenues for feminine influence.