Clementia Killewald OSB (born Elisabeth Killewald, 25 April 1954 – 2 July 2016) was a German

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 ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

Eibingen Abbey Eibingen Abbey (, full name: Benedictine Abbey St. Hildegard) is a community of Benedictine nuns in Eibingen near Rüdesheim in Hesse, Germany. Founded by Hildegard of Bingen in 1165, it was dissolved in 1804, but restored, with new buildings, ...

. She served first as an organist, then took care of the elderly and sick, and finally from 2000 she served as

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 ...

. She introduced the life and work of Saint

Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen Benedictines, OSB (, ; ; 17 September 1179), also known as the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictines, Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mysticism, mystic, visiona ...

, the founder of the abbeys of Rupertsberg and Eibingen, during the 2012 ceremony when

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

proclaimed Hildegard a

Doctor of the Church Doctor of the Church (Latin: ''doctor'' "teacher"), also referred to as Doctor of the Universal Church (Latin: ''Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis''), is a title given by the Catholic Church to saints recognized as having made a significant contribut ...

Life

Born in

Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...

as the oldest of nine siblings, Elisabeth Killewald grew up in

Dinslaken Dinslaken () is a town in the Wesel (district), district of Wesel, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is known for its harness racing track, its now closed Coal mining, coal mine in Dinslaken-Lohberg, Lohberg and its wealthy neighborhoods ''Hi ...

. She received the

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

from the Lise-Meitner-Gymnasium in

Geldern Geldern (; , , ; archaic English: ''Guelder(s)'') is a city in the States of Germany, federal German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is part of the Kleve (district), district of Kleve, which is part of the Düsseldorf (region), Düsseldorf Reg ...

. She studied first church music and flute at the

Hochschule für Musik Mainz The Hochschule für Musik Mainz (HfMM, Mainz School of Music) is a university of music, part of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz. It is the only such institution in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. History The institution was ...

. She joined the Benedictine Abbey St. Hildegard in Eibingen in 1976, assumed the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...

''Clementia'' (kindness) and made her temporary

vows A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath. A vow is used as a promise that is solemn rather than casual. Marriage vows Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedding ...

on her 25th birthday, 25 April 1979. At the abbey, she worked first as an

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

and member of the ''

Choralschola A Choralschola, known simply as ''schola'', is a choir for singing Gregorian chant or plainsong. It consists traditionally of only men, but more recent groups sometimes also include female voices. A schola often performs in uniform. The group may ...

'', then took care of the elderly and sick in the infirmary. In summer of 2000 she was chosen by the

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

to succeed Edeltraud Forster as

. She was dedicated on 3 October 2000 by Bishop

Franz Kamphaus Franz Kamphaus (2 February 1932 – 28 October 2024) was a German Catholic prelate, bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Limburg. He was bishop of the diocese from 1982 after teaching pastoral theology and homiletics at the University of Münster. ...

. As the abbess, she regularly led the annual procession on the feast of Hildegard on 17 September with her shrine carried through the streets. She lectured about Hildegard, for example at the Liborifest of the

Diocese of Paderborn The Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn () was an ecclesiastical principality (Hochstift) of the Holy Roman Empire from 1281 to 1802. History The Diocese of Paderborn was founded in 799 by Pope Leo III. In the early years it was subordinated to t ...

in the presence of Archbishop

Hans-Josef Becker Hans-Josef Becker (born 8 June 1948) is a German prelate of the Catholic Church who was the archbishop of Paderborn in Germany from 2003 to 2022. Life Hans Josef Becker was born in , Warstein, Germany, on 8 June 1948. He completed his advanced ...

in 2010. When Hildegard was proclaimed a

on 7 October 2012 by Pope Benedikt XVI, Mother Clementia introduced Hildegard's life and work on St. Peter's Square during the ceremony., year 92 (2016), p. 245. She resigned for health reasons on 27 May 2016, accepted by Albert Schmidt. She died in

Rüdesheim am Rhein Rüdesheim am Rhein is a German winemaking town in the Rhine Gorge, and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in this region. It lies in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt, Hessen. Know ...

on 2 July 2016 after severe illness.

Publications

Mother Clementia worked as an editor of the works by Hildegard of Bingen, in new translations from Latin, published by the Beuroner Kunstverlag: * ''Wisse die Wege''. Works, vol. I, translated by Mechthild Heieck. 2010, . * ''Ursprung und Behandlung der Krankheiten. Causae et Curae''. Works, vol. II, translated by . 2011, . * ''Lieder Symphoniae.'' Works, vol. IV, translated by

Barbara Stühlmeyer Barbara Stühlmeyer OblOSB (born 12 November 1964) is a German theologian, musicologist, and free-lance author, known especially for her work on the music of Hildegard of Bingen. Biography Stühlmeyer was born in Bremen. After completing her A ...

. 2012, . * ''Heilsame Schöpfung – Die natürliche Wirkkraft der Natur. Physica''. Works, vol. V, translated by Ortrun Riha. 2012, . * ''Das Buch vom Wirken Gottes – Liber Divinorum Operum''. Works, vol. VI, translated by Mechthild Heieck. 2012, . * ''Briefe. Epistulae''. Works, vol. VIII, 2012, . * Barbara Stühlmeyer, Sabine Böhm: ''Tugenden und Laster. Wegweisung im Dialog mit Hildegard von Bingen'', 2012, . * ''Das Leben der heiligen Hildegard von Bingen. Vitae sanctae Hildegardis.'' Works, vol. III, translated by Monika Klaes-Hachmöller, with an introduction by Michael Embach. 2013, . * ''Das Buch der Lebensverdienste. Liber vitae meritorum.'' Works, vol. VII, translated by Sr. Maura Zatonyi OSB. 2014, .

Awards

The composer

Ludger Stühlmeyer Ludger Stühlmeyer (born 3 October 1961 in Melle, West Germany) is a German cantor, organist, composer, docent and musicologist. Biography Stühlmeyer was born to a family of cantors and made his first steps under the guidance of his father in ...

dedicated his ''Quatre pièces pour Orgue:Prélude romantique, Caprice expressionique, Hymne impressionique, Fugue baroque'' in 2001 to her, "Äbtissin Clementia zugeeignet" (dedicated to Abbess Clementia). It was published by the Sonat-Verlag in 2013, ISMN 979-0-50235-058-1.

References

External links

Benedictine Abbey of St. Hildegard

"Die Sehnsucht hat sich erfüllt" / Interview mit Mutter Clementia Killewald, Äbtissin von Sankt Hildegard in Rüdesheim-Eibingen
(PDF, in German) interview on 20 May 2012
Äbtissin Clementia Killewald OSB am 7. Oktober 2012 in Rom / Heiligsprechung
(in German) 7 October 2012 in Rome

Rhein-Zeitung The Rhein-Zeitung (''RZ'') is a regional German daily broadsheet newspaper published in Koblenz by Mittelrhein-Verlag GmbH and distributed across Rhineland-Palatinate. In five districts, the editions are unchanged for the respective district; in ...

October 2012
Andrea Emmel met Sr. Clementia
Kirche im SWR, on Sunday, 16 September 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Killewald, Clementia Benedictine abbesses 1954 births 2016 deaths People from Duisburg German Roman Catholic abbesses Latin–German translators German editors German women editors 20th-century German Roman Catholic nuns 20th-century German translators Consecrated virgins People from the Rheingau 21st-century German Roman Catholic nuns