Cordula Wöhler, later Cordula Schmid, pseudonym Cordula Peregrina was a German author of Christian poetry and hymns, whose "Segne du, Maria" is among the most popular Marian hymns in the Germanosphere. Wöhler wrote the poem after she, the daughter of a Lutheran pastor in Lichtenhagen, announced that she was converting to Catholicism, only to be expelled from her parental home and disowned by her family. Wöhler then moved to Austria-Hungary and became a recognised poet and author of Christian literature.
Wöhler, c. 1885
Book cover with pseudonym and real name
"Segne du, Maria" is a Christian Marian hymn in German with text by Cordula Wöhler in 1870, and a melody composed by Karl Kindsmüller and published in 1916, after the author's death. On popular demand, it is contained in the Gotteslob of 2013, and other hymnals and songbooks.
Cordula Wöhler in 1885