Anna Katharina Emmerick (also spelled Emmerich) was born in 1774 as the fifth of nine children to Anna and Bernhard Emmerick, a poor smallholder near Coesfeld (Westphalia). From her mother, who could barely read, she learned the stories of the Bible early on and began experiencing her first visions as a child. At the age of 13, she initially worked as a maid and later as a traveling seamstress in the Coesfeld area. At her own request, she was admitted to the Augustinian convent in Dülmen in 1802. At the same time, her biblical visions intensified, and the first stigmatizations occurred. From that time on, her life was marked by suffering and illness, which confined her to her bed. It was not until around 1813 that her sufferings became publicly known, and Clemens Brentano took notice of her. He described her visions.