COELDE (Kolde), Theodoric (Dederich, Dietrich, Dietrich and Dirk). - Preacher, ascetical writer and author of hymns, b. around 1435 at Münster, d. at Louvain on 11 Dec. 1515, called Dietrich von Münster or von Osnabrück, the country of origin of his family. He was one of the most famous and effective popular preachers of his time.

He first studied at Cologne, then, after a brief stay among the Hermits of St. Augustine, in 1453 he entered the Observant Friars Minor, becoming one of the most zealous reformers of the Order in the province of the Rhine and in the Netherlands, where he distinguished himself as an apostle of charity, especially by assisting the plague-stricken at Brussels in 1489. He was a director of souls, for whom he wrote several short works. His reputation for holiness was so great that there was talk of beatifying him. Various spiritual opuscules of his have been printed, but he deserves to be remembered above all for a very rare little volume of his entitled Christenspiegel (1st ed., 1745), considered the first catechism in the German language. Moufang reproduced it at the head of his collection of German catechisms of the 16th century under the title Ein fruchtbar Spiegel, oder Handbüchelchen der Christenmenschen von Bruder Dederich von Münster.

Bibliography6 works

BIBL.: Wadding, Scriptores, pp. 213-14; R. Ernsing, Zu dem Leben und den Werken Dietrich Köldes, in Historisches Jahrbuch, 12 (1891), pp. 56-68; S. Schoutens, Martyrologium Minoriticum Belgicum, Hoogstrat 1902, pp. 211-13; P. J. Goyens, Collection « Bruxelles sacra », Malines 1929, pp. 114-17; Un héros du vieux Bruxelles, le b. Thierry C., ibid. 1929; Ed. d'Alençon, Kolde Theodoric, in DThC, VIII, coll. 2374-75.

Felice da Mareto

@incollection{ec3_coelde_kolde_theodorich_dederi, author = {Felice da Mareto}, title = {Coelde (Kolde), theodorich (dederich, dietrich, dietrich e dirk)}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {III}, pages = {1928}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1949}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/coelde-kolde-theodorich-dederich-dietrich-dietrich-e-dirk} }

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Coelde, Theodoric

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