June 13, 2025, marks the 500th wedding anniversary of Katharina von Bora and Martin Luther, an event that we might think of as a “Reformation of Marriage.” When we commemorate this anniversary, we not only celebrate Katie (as Katharina is often referred) and Martin, but the way in which their marriage might inspire us to think about healthy, loving, long-term relationships.
As you may know, sometime during the time of the early church, a debate started about whether it was better to marry or stay single. The apostle Paul was caught up in this debate and stated that it was better to stay single if one was unmarried or widowed (1 Corinthians 7), despite Jesus’ words to the contrary in Matthew 19:6 (“Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate”). During Martin’s and Katie’s childhood, the European church had decided that celibacy was more holy than married life.
Katie and Martin both began life in a cloistered setting in 1505. Katie had been sent to the convent at age 5 by her father and new stepmother. Martin chose the habit against his father’s advice, he later said, to be “more perfect than others.” In 1515 at age 16, Katie was deemed of the age to choose to take the veil. She had gained 10 years of convent education, was literate and had many skills.
When Martin posted the 95 Theses against indulgences, he didn’t intend to start a Reformation. Yet, his ideas continued to challenge the thinking of the Roman church. In 1519, he wrote a sermon in praise of marriage, in which Martin said that the two partners must freely and mutually agree that “I am yours, and you are mine.” For Martin, this emphasis on self-giving and mutuality is what made marriage a schoolhouse of faith where partners learn to trust the love of God.
Did Katie read that sermon? We know that Martin had preached in her town in 1519. We know, too, that in 1521 she and her convent sisters had heard Martin’s claims, stated in his writing On Monastic Vows, that the vows to celibacy weren’t binding.
At the time, nuns couldn’t leave the convent without their parents’ permission. It was also punishable to help a nun leave the convent.
In 1519, he wrote a sermon in praise of marriage, in which Martin said that the two partners must freely and mutually agree that “I am yours, and you are mine.”
In 1523, Katie and 11 sisters escaped in a wagon after the Easter Vigil. They asked to be taken to Martin’s home. There the women sought Martin’s help in finding them husbands. Katie, however, asked him to be her husband. To make too short what is a wonderful story between the two, Martin proposed to Katie on June 13, 1525, and they married the same day.
The Luthers had six children, raised eight nieces and nephews, and housed many people from students to professors and pastors. Katie brewed beer and managed the farm that supplied food for their large table and for many dinner parties. Her income made Martin’s work possible. He called her Lord Katie, and he emphasized the equality of women in dignity before God in his lectures on Genesis. In his will, he named Katie as his heir. All of these were groundbreaking ideas about mutual relationships between men and women in marriage.
Katie’s Fund
Katie has long been an inspiration to many people. In her honor, the Women of the ELCA created an endowment called Katie’s Fund to support initiatives related to leadership development, global connections and living theology. The fund was opened in 1997 with a $3,000 gift made by members of the organization’s executive board in celebration of Women of the ELCA’s 10th anniversary. In 2022 a capital campaign began to increase the endowment (then at 1.5 million) and funding streams for Women of the ELCA into the future.
A celebration for the end of the Katie’s Fund campaign will be held June 13 at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn. Following a lecture at the Christ Chapel, a reception will celebrate the wedding anniversary and the end of the campaign at Paddlefish Brewery. A special brew called Katie’s Ale has been created for the occasion, with the brewery donating $1 for every pint sold to Katie’s Fund.
For the celebration, theologian and Luther scholar Diane Bowers will present a talk titled “Shocking and Necessary: The Marriage of Katharina von Bora and Martin Luther as an Act of Love and Resistance.”
Bowers will discuss the fact that, although one of the objectives of the Protestant movement was the reform of the estate of marriage, Martin himself didn’t marry until relatively late. She will speculate on the answer to the question: Why did Martin marry when he did?
Despite the controversy, the Luther marriage was strong and loving from the start and strengthened and served the Protestant Reformation as a whole.
For more information
- To learn more about the celebration or join the livestream, visit the Women of the ELCA webpage.
- A resource on Katie’s life is available for download here.
- To celebrate the anniversary by donating to Katie’s Fund, click here.
