Caritas Pirckheimer

Caritas Pirckheimer (21 March 1467 – 19 August 1532) was Abbess of Saint Clara's convent in Nuremberg at the time of the Reformation, which she opposed due to the threat posed by Martin Luther to Catholic houses of worship and religious buildings, including her own convent.

[4] Despite being widely praised for her learning, authorities viewed Caritas as a threat and she was ordered to stop her Latin writing.

[6] Already in her fifties at the time, Sister Caritas apparently received support in her struggle for the survival of the monastery from Philipp Melanchthon, formerly a close friend of Luther.

[8] She had maintained a chronicle during her abbacy of events at the monastery during the period of upheaval (1524–1528), "including letters to and from the city council and written transcripts of conversations.

The fate of the convent, as it transpires, was that the women of Saint Clara's were allowed to stay in the monastery until their deaths but no novices were to be received.