Catherine of the Palatinate (14 October 1499 in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

– 16 January 1526 in Neuburg Abbey) was a member of the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

family and a titular Countess Palatine of Simmern. She was

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

of Neuburg Abbey.

Life

Catherine was the youngest child of Elector Palatine

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

(1448–1508) from his marriage to

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

(1456–1501), the daughter of Duke

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis ...

of Bavaria-Landshut. In 1515, Catherine renounced her inheritance and entered the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

Neuburg Abbey. She became

of the abbey. Catherine died in 1526, at the age of 26. She was buried in the abbey church of Neuburg. Her grave stone can be found on the north wall of the nave, opposite the monastery portal. It is made of red sandstone and it shows, in

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

, Catherine wearing a

nun's habit A religious habit is a distinctive set of clothing worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally, some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anchoritic life, although ...

, with the abbess's staff and a book in her hands and a lion at her feet.Renate Neumüllers-Klauser: ''Die Inschriften der Stadt und des Landkreises Heidelberg'', Reichert, 1970, p. 121

References

* August Benedict Michaelis: ''Einleitung zu einer volständigen geschichte der chur- und fürstlichen häuser in Teutschland'' vol. 2, 1760, p. 32

Footnotes

Benedictine abbesses Electoral Princesses of the Palatinate 1499 births 1526 deaths 16th-century German nobility 16th-century German nuns Daughters of prince-electors {{Germany-noble-stub