Wife of Martin Luther. Katharina Luther is considered to be a significant player in the Protestant Reformation, and one of the most important women in Church history, for helping to define the protestant family life and setting the tone for marriage amongst the clergy. Little is known of her life beyond Martin Luther's writings and those of his contemporaries. She was born in Lippendorf, Germany near Leipzig to a family of insolvent Saxon nobles. Her mother died when Katharina was five years old, and Katharina was sent to the Benedictine cloister in Brehna. She was later moved to Marienthron, a Cistercian convent where her aunt was Mother Superior. At the age of 16, Katharina took her holy vows as a nun. Within a few years, she was becoming dissatisfied with her life at the convent, and was very interested in the growing reform movement. Katharina and 11 other nuns made plans to flee the convent in secret, and she begged Martin Luther for his assistance. The nuns escaped to Wittenberg hidden in a cart full of herring barrels. The women were eager for a new life and marriage, and Martin Luther found husbands or employment for all of them except Katharina. Although she had several suitors, Katharina wanted only Martin Luther himself. The two were married on June 13, 1525. They had six children: Johannes, Elizabeth, Magdalena, Martin Jr., Paul, and Margarete. They also raised four orphaned children, including Katharina's nephew, Fabian. In his writings, Luther often referred to his wife as "My Lord Katie". Following Luther's death in 1546, Katharina was left in poverty. She was able to support herself largely through the generosity of John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony. Forced to flee to Torgau in 1552 to escape the Black Plague, Katharina died within months of arriving, at the age of 53. She was buried in Torgau, far from her beloved husband in Wittenberg. Her feast day is commemorated on the Lutheran Calendar of Saints on December 20.