Illustration of Ann Catherine Emmerich by János Hajnal in Il fascino di Dio: Profili de agiografia agostiniana by Fernando Rojo Martínez, O.S.A. Copyright © 2000 Pubblicazioni Agostiniane Rome. Used with permission. Original art preserved in the Office of Augustinian Postulator of Causes, Rome
Blessed Ann Catherine Emmerich
February 9
Ann Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) was an Augustinian Canoness noted for her visions of Christ and other mystic gifts.
Ann Catherine was born in Flamschen bei Coesfeld, Westphalia, Germany in 1774. Her family was poor but faith-filled.
From a young age, Ann Catherine wanted to be a nun. Her father opposed her entry into the monastery.
While a girl, Ann Catherine began to receive many spiritual gifts from God. When she became an adult, she sought entry into the religious life. Several communites would not accept her, but finally the Augustinian Canonesses at Agnetenberg received her into their convent.
Life in the convent was not easy for Ann Catherine. Some of nuns looked down on her because of the poverty of her family. Her health was poor. An accident in 1806 made it impossible for her to leave her room for the next six years.
During this time God continued to bless her with spiritual gifts. A few of the nuns, perhaps out of jealousy, looked upon Ann Catherine with suspicion and spread unkind gossip about her.
At the end of 1811, the convent where she lived was ordered suppressed. In 1812 Ann Catherine and some of the other sisters were living in Dulmen. There she would frequently become caught up in ecstatic prayer. Towards the end of 1812, she was given the marks of Christ's Passion on her body. She tried to hide these, but only succeeded for a while. Soon the other sisters noticed the stigmata and told their superiors.
An investigation followed, which concluded that the wounds were truly mystic phenomena and that Ann Catherine was indeed the recipient of many supernatural gifts.
She experienced many visions of Christ. It is, however, difficult to know the truth about many of these, since the main source of information in this regard is the writings of the romantic poet Clemens Brentano (1778-1842), whose works were characterized by an excess of fantastic imagery.
Ann Catherine did not herself write any descriptions of her visions. Instead, she recounted her visions to Brentano, who, in turn, wrote them in a sort of diary, which he published in book form several years after Ann Catherine's death. True to his usual style, Brentano frequently exaggerated and embellished the facts.
Scholars today do not consider Brentano's book, entitled The Dolorous Passion, to be a reliable reporting of what Ann Catherine really experienced. The book was totally disregarded during the process of her beatification.
Ann Catherine's health continued to grow worse. From 1813 to the time of her death on November 9, 1824, Ann Catherine was bedridden. She died in Dulman, where her remains are preserved.
In 2001 Ann Catherine Emmerich's practice of virtue was declared "heroic". She was beatified October 3, 2004.