Maren Sørensen (1882–1957) is considered to be the first female Danish priest. She was ordained by the independent Grundtvigian cleric Niels Dael in 1940 in
Havrebjerg
Havrebjerg is a village on Zealand (Denmark), Zealand, Denmark. It is located in Slagelse Municipality.
History
Maren Sørensen, considered to be the first female Danish priest, was ordained by Havrebjerg by the independent Grundtvigian priest Nie ...
. Sørensen is also remembered for her extensive work as a nurse, foster mother and family carer in
Southern Jutland
Southern Jutland (; ) is the region south of the Kongeå in Jutland, Denmark and north of the Eider (river) in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The region north of the Kongeå is called . Both territories had their own ting assemblies in the Mi ...
.
Biography
Born on 12 July 1882 in
Varde Municipality
Varde Municipality () is a '' kommune'' in the Region of Southern Denmark on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. Its mayor is Mads Sørensen, a member of the Venstre (Liberal Party) political party. The main town and sit ...
in the west of
Jutland
Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...
, Maren Sørensen was the daughter of the farmer Jacob Sørensen (1842–1921) and Ane Cathrine Nielsen (1849–1900). From the age of four, she was brought up by her paternal grandparents. Her grandfather Elias S. Han was a devout
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
who cast aspersions on those who did not conform to his beliefs. When she was 10, she returned to live with her mother, resolving to serve God with a more joyful Christian attitude.
The years she spent caring for her ailing mother inspired her to become a nurse. She first attended Janderup
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
, before continuing her education at Sankt Lukas Stiftelsen and the Blegdam Hospital in Copenhagen. After spending three years as a nurse in Strøby, Stevns, she went on a course at Liselund's Grundtvigian school founded by Niels Dael. Deeply influenced by both Dael and Laurids Bertelsen Poulsen who had ties to religious developments in Southern Jutland, for the next 11 years she became a travelling nurse in the Tønder district and, from 1912, in
Flensburg
Flensburg (; Danish language, Danish and ; ; ) is an independent city, independent town in the far north of the Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. After Kiel and Lübeck, it is the third-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein.
Flensburg's ...
. Settling in Holbøl, she founded the Danish Nursing Association in Flensburg (''Dansk Sygeplejeforening i Flensborg''). When the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
began in 1914, she volunteered for war service, caring for people of various nationalities, especially French and Russian prisoners of war.
In 1920, she took charge of the newly built children's home in Vilstrup near
Haderslev
Haderslev (; ) is a Denmark, Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark with a population of 22,405 (1 January 2025).Valsbøl which, in addition to rooms for sewing and carpentry, housed a prayer room and her own living quarters. Funded by private gifts and supported by national associations, it was opened by Dael over a three-day event which attracted 800 people.
Although she was not entitled to become a priest under Danish regulations, she acted as a cleric, conducting services and carrying out other religious duties. Nevertheless, in 1940 she was ordained by Niels Dael in the independent Lutheran church in Havrebjerg. She was therefore not ordained into the National Church of Denmark or ''Danske Folkekirke'' which first admitted women priests in 1947. Owing to the difficulties arising from the Second World War, she was unable to work in Southern Jutland but returned to Valsbøl after the hostilities had ended. In 1948, when the Church of Denmark appointed a Danish priest in Valsbøl, Sørensen returned to Vilstrup. In 1952, she was honoured with the
Order of the Dannebrog
The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...
.
Maren Sørensen died in Haderslev on 4 July 1957 and is buried in Lønborg Cemetery near Tarm in the west of Jutland.