Maria Katharina Kasper (1820–1898), Gründerin der Genossenschaft “Arme Dienstmägde Jesu Christi”: Ein Beitrag zur Pastoralgeschichte des 19. Jahrhunderts (review)

It seems at times as though the biographies of nineteenth-century religious figures are as fixed as those of early-medieval saints. St. Maria Katharina Kasper came from a poor family in a small village. She suffered from ill health all her life, which was nevertheless of a respectable length. She underwent a number of trials, but was encouraged by several visions promising success. In the end, she was honored and successful in her spiritual endeavors.

This work is a dissertation for the faculty of the Philosophisch- Theologische Hochschule Sankt Georgen in Frankfurt-am-Main, where it was directed by Michael Sievernich, S.J. The work consists of an introduction, three main sections, a conclusion, and extensive appendices. The first major section (pp. 23–136) consists of three chapters on the life of Kasper. The narrative is chapter 1; chapter 2 is an extensive collection of source materials; and chapter 3 covers the canonization process. Section 2 (pp. 127–230) discusses Kasper’s order, the religious foundation known as the Poor Servants of Jesus Christ, again in three chapters—origins, establishments, and visitations. Section 3 (pp. 231–358) considers the relationships and spirituality of Kasper, with chapters on her connections to persons and movements, her spirituality as documented in her writings, and her relationship to the traditions of the Church. Finally, there is the interesting conclusion (pp. 359–62) “Die Bedeutung Kathartina Kaspers für die Gegenwart.” Extensive appendices follow of the correspondence of the founder; constitutions of the foundation; unedited letters; official documents; and lists of sources, persons, members of the order, locations of houses, and places mentioned.

Kasper was born in the small village of Dernbach, part of the Archdiocese of Trier until it was included in the new Diocese of Limburg (the diocese covered the territory of the Duchy of Nassau, which was absorbed into the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866). She lived the greater part of her life in Dernbach. Her father died when she was twenty-one, leaving her to care for her mother. Stories are told that can be found in hagiographies from nearly every age—Kasper sharing food with the poor, showing little promise as a scholar but paying close attention in religion classes. Beginning in 1845, Kasper had several visions that pointed the way to her later work. After helping those in need, she came to the notice of church authorities and gained the support of an initially skeptical Peter Joseph Blum, bishop of Limburg. Blum assisted in the founding of an order of sisters devoted to elementary education and charitable work such as caring for orphans and looking after the sick, including wounded soldiers from the 1866 Austro-Prussian conflict.

The Poor Servants of Jesus Christ took its first vows as a religious community on August 15, 1851, with six members. Kasper took the name Maria. The order rapidly spread in the German-speaking lands and elsewhere, establishing a foundation in the United States at Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1868. During the time of the Kulturkampf in Prussia, the worldly wisdom of the foundress is reflected in a letter of 1881 to her bishop in exile, in which she describes her response to the prohibition of admitting new members. She simply put novices and postulants through formation, then sent them out of Prussian territory to take their vows at a daughter house. In this way, sixty-four novices and forty-two postulants were at that time working in daughter houses. This is an example of what Maier calls Kasper’s seizure of the hour, the kairos, as enjoined in scripture. Kasper died in 1898 and was canonized by Pope Paul VI on April 16, 1978.

For the scholar, the most significant portions of...