The Passion of the Christ

Anne Catherine Emmerich was an Augustinian nun recognized as the recipient of many mystic gifts and vision. She is believed to have received the full stigmata, of which she reported suffering the physical effects of Jesus' punctured hands, feet, side, and forehead. Moved by her religious piety, German poet Clemens Brentano was inspired to document her ordeal. Brentano spent many months with Anne Catherine as she dictated the details of her encounters, which Brentano later compiled into the book The Dolorous Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this book, Anne Catherine's visions of Christ's agony and death are documented in unimaginable detail. While Anne Catherine's sacred wounds were witnessed by many during her time, the highly poetical and extravagant imagery in Brentano's book have led scholars to believe that Brentano may have embellished her descriptions as he recorded them. Consequently, this account of Anne Catherine's visions should be appreciated for its meditative value rather than for its historical accuracy. The filmmaker Mel Gibson for his film The Passion of the Christ, was also inspired by the diaries of Emmerich.