Anne-Catherine Emmerich and Maria Valtorta

Anne-Catherine Emmerich.

Anne-Catherine Emmerich is the first seer to receive the complete vision of the life of Jesus Christ. Marie d’Agréda, two centuries earlier, had only received the complete life of Mary. Before them, the visions were only partial, centered on a few major events.

Anne-Catherine Emmerich thus had a distinguished privilege that she obtained by her free participation in the Passion of the Christ.

Unfortunately, men's clumsiness, though well-intentioned, caused the irreversible deterioration of the visions. Clemens Brentano (1778-1842), who collected them, wanted, by misplaced enthusiasm, to perfect perfection. He introduced his own deductions into the original visions without anyone knowing how to differentiate them.

On January 28, 1949, once the Gospel visions were finished, Jesus gave two works to Maria Valtorta to read: the revelations of Sister Joséfa Menéndez and the visions of Anne-Catherine Emmerich.

Maria Valtorta immediately recognized the divine Author in Sister Joséfa's writings, but not in Anne-Catherine Emmerich's accounts. She was troubled. Jesus explained to her:

These pages (the revelations of Anne-Catherine Emmerich), for a whole set of reasons, are not a faithful reflection of the things seen. The dust of what is human has corrupted the purity of the truth. Men wanted to add to God's work and they distorted it. As always. As it would have happened also for the visions I have given you, if you or others had wanted to add or modify. Like yourself, if you had wanted to embellish the account, like others thinking to make it more perfect. You and the others would have ruined everything.

A similar deterioration already happened to Marie d’Agréda when her confessors first asked her to burn her first version, then rewrite it.

Biography

Anne-Catherine Emmerich (Anna Katharina Emmerick) was an Augustinian nun. She was born on September 8 1774, in the farming community of Flamschen near Coesfeld (Westphalia - Germany). She was the fifth of a family of nine siblings. From her very early childhood, she had to help with domestic and agricultural work. She attended school only briefly but had a good religious education.

At the age of thirteen, she worked for three years on a large nearby farm. There she learned sewing before returning to live with her parents.

At sixteen, feeling the call to religious life, she refused marriage, but due to her parents' opposition and insufficient dowry, she could only enter religious life twelve years later.

She asked to be admitted to various monasteries without success. However, the Poor Clares of Münster accepted her on the condition that she first learn to play the organ. Her parents then allowed her to live with the family of the organist Söntgen in Coesfeld for her apprenticeship; but she never had the opportunity to learn the organ, as her family's poverty forced her to work to help support them.

In 1802, she finally succeeded in entering the Augustinian monastery of Agnetenberg, near Dülmen, with her friend Klara Söntgen. She pronounced her vows the next year, participating fervently in monastic life, always ready to perform the hardest tasks no one else wanted to do.

From 1802 to 1811, she frequently fell ill and had to endure great pains. In 1811, the Agnetenberg monastery was secularized and closed, She became a housekeeper for Abbé Lambert, a priest, confessor of the dukes of Croy, who had fled the French Revolution and lived in Dülmen. She became sick again and, from the end of March 1813, never left her bed. She called her youngest sister who, under her direction, took care of the household.

It was during this period that she received the stigmata. This fact could not remain hidden; Doctor Franz Wesener examined her and was deeply impressed, becoming her faithful friend in the following years.

A hallmark of her personality was the love she felt for her neighbor. She always sought to help others, even unable to get out of bed, where she sewed clothes for poor children. Many personalities, involved in the Church renewal movement at the beginning of the 19th century, sought her counsel.

Her meeting with Clemens Brentano was particularly significant. From 1818, he visited her daily for five years, noting her visions which he later published. During the summer of 1823, Anne-Catherine's health declined and, with death approaching, she decided to unite her suffering to that of Jesus, offering it for the redemption of mankind. She died on February 9, 1824, and her remains rest in the crypt of the Holy Cross Church in Dülmen.

Anne-Catherine's life was marked by a deep union with Christ; the stigmata she bore were proof. She also had profound devotion to Mary. Through faith and love, she served the work of redemption, saying about it:

I have always considered service to the neighbor as the highest virtue. In my youth, I prayed God to give me the strength to serve my neighbor and to be useful. Now I know He answered my prayer.

Her beatification process (different from canonization) was introduced in Rome in 1892 but was suspended in 1927, primarily because it was difficult to judge the authenticity of Brentano's texts. It was reopened in 1973 and ended with her beatification pronounced on Sunday, October 3, 2004 by Pope John Paul II.

The stigmata

Anne-Catherine Emmerich - Gabriel von Max. 1885.

As early as 1799, Anne-Catherine felt the pains of the crown of thorns; blood flowed every Friday, but she managed to conceal it. In autumn 1807, the pain of the stigmata on the feet and hands began, without blood flow or external mark. On November 25, 1812, a cross formed on her chest; this cross, which doubled at Christmas, ordinarily bled on Wednesdays. In the last days of 1812, the stigmata of the hands, feet and side became visible; blood flowed. No vision accompanied the stigmatization, as Anne-Catherine Emmerich affirmed under oath to the ecclesiastical investigators.

Due to the indiscretion of a sister who discovered the wounds on her hands on February 28, 1813, these phenomena became known to the town. The doctor of Dülmen, Doctor Franz Wesener (1782-1832), who visited the sick woman intending to "expose" her, was the subject (as were later Dr Druffel and others) of an impressive proof of her cardiognosis.

On March 25, the vicar general Clemens Auguste von Droste-Vischering (1773-1845), future archbishop of Cologne, came accompanied by Dr Druffel and the seminary superior Bernard Overberg (1754-1826). Dr Krauthausen, former convent physician, tried to treat the wounds but without success; he was also assigned to vigilant medical supervision.

The perpetual fast

Close surveillance over ten days (June 10–19) confirmed the blood flow from the stigmata and the perpetual fasting. Since the appearance of the stigmata, in fact, the appetite had disappeared, unrelated to any illness; Anne-Catherine Emmerich consumed only water soon after. Subsequently, a government investigation (August 5–29, 1819) could find no evidence of any deception.

Doctor Franz Wesener was responsible for medical care. His Journal, conscientiously written from March 1813 to November 1819, as well as the Brief History he wrote the year Anne-Catherine died for a medical journal, constitute "a rare source for the psychological-religious and medical study of stigmata and analogous phenomena."

Hierognosis

Doctor Franz Wesener was the first to report, in Anne-Catherine Emmerich, numerous cases of hierognosis. As early as 1817, Christian Brentano had discovered, as had already noticed Abbé Lambert and Father Limberg, the extreme sensitivity of the stigmatic to the sacred, especially during her ecstasies, whether to authenticate relics, recognize consecrated hosts, or obey orders from ecclesiastical authority.

Other mystical phenomena

Clemens Brentano, on his side, drew Doctor Franz Wesener's attention to the fact that the stigmatic willingly accepted diseases and sufferings of others onto herself.

In his Brief History, the doctor explains this:

It was only during the last two years of her life that I understood her mysterious sufferings. Most of her illnesses, in fact, were the spontaneous acceptance of sufferings from her friends, who confided their worries to her and recommended themselves to her prayers. In her ecstasies, she spoke clearly about this, usually indicating the time when her intervention would end.

A nun suffering from severe tuberculosis of the lungs and larynx asked Anne-Catherine Emmerich to intercede with God and was inexplicably healed. Other cases of sudden and simultaneous healings have also been attested.

The visions and writings of Clemens Brentano

Clemens Brentano, Anne-Catherine Emmerich's confidant.

Most of Anne-Catherine Emmerich's visions were attributed to her by Clemens Brentano. These works recount the life and passion of Christ and the life of the Virgin according to the almost daily account of Anne-Catherine Emmerich, given to Brentano from 1818 to 1824.

Not only did she see the Savior’s passion, but for three years she followed Him in all His travels through Palestine and beyond. The nature of the soil, the rivers, the mountains, the forests, the inhabitants, their customs, all passed before her eyes in clear and distinct images. Moreover, she could cast her gaze into a more distant past (Adam and Eve) and embrace the entire history.

Clemens Brentano's considerable work, 16,000 loose leaves of various notes, was published in three parts:

• In 1833, nine years after Anne-Catherine Emmerich's death, "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ" (Das bittere Leiden unsers Herrn Jesu Christus), preceded by a biographical sketch of the stigmatic.
• In 1852 "The Life of the Virgin Mary" (Leben der heiligen Jungfrau Maria): the begun printing was interrupted by Clemens's death (1842), reworked and continued by his brother Christian, who died in 1851, and finished by his sister-in-law, ten years after Clemens's death.
• In 1858-1860, six years later, the three volumes of "The Life of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (Das Leben unsers Herrn und Heilandes Jesu Christi) published by the Redemptorist K.E. Schmöger based on Brentano's manuscripts, thoroughly revised and amended.

The controversy

One must not neglect to highlight the difference in title from one work to another: "according to the meditations" says Clemens Brentano (''Nach den Betrachtungen der gottSaltingen A.K. Emmerick'') in the first work; "according to the visions" printed by K.E. Schmöger at the head of the last (''Nach den Gesichten der gottSaltingen A.K. Emmerick…aufgeschrieben von Clemens Brentano'').

Unfortunately, his "meditations" or "visions" significantly embellish the framework and text of the gospels; they add facts, speeches, and attitudes that seem to come from apocrypha or hagiographical legends. Brentano's share, conscious or not, appears significant. How to disentangle what belongs to the "vision" and what is the writer’s personal composition?

The hazards of their publication do not simplify discernment. "A critical study of the text still remains to be done" concluded Joachim Bouflet, one of Anne-Catherine Emmerich's specialists, in his foreword to the recent reissue of "The Life of the Virgin Mary"

An objective assessment of Anne-Catherine Emmerich’s visions is delicate. Clemens Brentano and, following him, K.E. Schmöger, Th. Wegener, J. Niessen, and others, consider them without hesitation as authentic private supernatural revelations, precisely because of the topographical details that at the time seemed not otherwise knowable. On the other hand, others have pointed out inaccuracies; but this does not prejudge the authenticity of the visions, distinct from the manner in which they are reported.

The study of the sources has revealed many borrowings. Christian Brentano, Clemens's brother, recorded this fact in his notes to his brother's journal. Clemens admitted the influence of Martin de Cochem's writings in The Dolorous Passion.

The work of L. Stahl (1909), H. Cardauns (1916) and W. Hümpfner has shown these influences without possible ambiguity.

Position of the Catholic Church

Attribution of the visions

In 1927, the Congregation of Rites, based on the work of W. Hümpfner, in turn renounced considering Brentano's notes and composition as writings of Anne-Catherine Emmerich and holding her responsible for them.

This is the position taken up by Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints at Anne-Catherine Emmerich’s beatification in October 2004 by Pope John Paul II.

Blessed Anne-Catherine Emmerich left us only three letters whose authenticity is certain. The other writings, erroneously attributed to her, have various origins: the “visions” of the Passion of Christ were annotated, very freely reworked and uncontrolled by the German writer Clemens Brentano and were published in 1833 under the title ''The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ''. […] The works in question therefore cannot be considered as works written or dictated by Anne-Catherine Emmerich nor as faithful transcriptions of her statements and narratives, but as a literary work by Brentano who made such amplifications and manipulations that it is impossible to establish what the true core attributable to the Blessed is.

That did not prevent Pope John Paul II from quoting, in the official beatification decree, "The Dolorous Passion".

The Church and private revelations

The position of the Catholic Church on private revelations is recalled in articles 66, 67 and 514 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992).

The first two recall that they are not an alternative to the Gospel:

“Over the centuries there have been so-called ‘private’ revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. However, they do not belong to the deposit of faith. Their role is not to ‘improve’ or ‘complete’ the definitive Revelation of Christ, but to help live it more fully at a certain time in history.”

The third emphasizes their interest:

“The whole life of Christ is a mystery and […] many things that interest human curiosity about Jesus are not found in the Gospels.”

It simply repeats what John says at the end of his gospel.

Anne-Catherine Emmerich and other seers

The visions of Gospel scenes are not uniquely Anne-Catherine Emmerich’s case. Great saints have benefited from them, such as Saint Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), Saint Angela of Bohemia (+1243), Saint Gertrude of Helfta (1256-1302), Saint Bridget of Sweden (1302-1373), Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582), Saint Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi (1568-1607), and others. But they only provide limited visions on various aspects of Jesus's life.

Three seers received complete visions: the Venerable Marie d'Agréda (María Jesús de Ágreda; 1602-1665), the Blessed Anne-Catherine Emmerich and God’s servant Maria Valtorta (1897-1961).

But whereas Marie d'Agréda's visions concern only the life of the Virgin Mary (little described in the Gospels), those of Anne-Catherine Emmerich embrace for the first time also the life of Jesus, the central subject of the Gospel. They are also the first to give preeminence to historical narration over spiritual commentary, at the beginning of a century that demanded just that. This undoubtedly explains the immense success of these works, but also the controversy they have engendered, as with the works of other seers.

An excerpt can allow judging Anne-Catherine Emmerich's specific contribution: it is the one about Jesus' agony on the Mount of Olives. In this excerpt, published during Clemens Brentano’s life, Anne-Catherine Emmerich’s extreme sensitivity makes Jesus’ anguish vivid and tangible, down to the sweat of blood and the perverse assaults of Temptation.

Mary’s House at Ephesus

Anne-Catherine Emmerich is famous for having enabled the discovery of the house of Mary at Ephesus (Panaghia-Capouli) where she supposedly took refuge with the apostle John and where she died.

If, according to various discoveries, it seems probable that Anne-Catherine Emmerich saw the place and described it, it is not established that it is the house where Mary lived, given the presence of various contradictions, some of which conflict with the Holy Scriptures. On the other hand, it could be the place where she was proclaimed Theotokos (Mother of God) by the Council of Ephesus, her greatest title of glory.

Bibliography

No work was published during the seer’s lifetime. The "Dolorous Passion" is second hand. "The Life of the Virgin Mary" is third hand. The "Visions," in their French version, are fifth hand.

• "The Dolorous Passion of Jesus Christ" – Anne-Catherine Emmerich / Clemens Brentano – F.X. de Guibert editions, Paris – 2004 ISBN 2-86839-942-8. This re-edition corresponds to the first published work, the only one during Clemens Brentano’s lifetime. It was adapted by Lina Murr Nehmé
• "The Passion" – Anne-Catherine Emmerich – Presses de la Renaissance – 2004 – entirely retranslated edition by Joachim Bouflet - ISBN 2-7509-0121-9. It corresponds to the same work.
• "The Life of the Virgin Mary" – Anne-Catherine Emmerich – Presses de la Renaissance, Paris 2006. ISBN 2-7509-0239-8. Full text. The original translation and presentation are by Joachim Bouflet and include two additional chapters extracted from the "Visions."
• "Visions of Anne-Catherine Emmerich – on the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ and of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, the Dolorous Passion, and the establishment of the Church by the Apostles, coordinated into one whole, according to the order of events" – 3 volumes - Éditions Téqui, Paris 1995 – ISBN 2-7403-0320-3. This 1864 collection is by Fr. Joseph-Alvare Duley from the translation by M. Charles d'Éberling of an original text by Karl Erhard Schmöger. This latest work can be consulted online.

Preliminary stage to canonization recognizing that a deceased person can be called Blessed because of their holiness.

Official declaration that a person is holy and may be universally venerated.

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