This is an account of the events leading up to the Crucifixion of Christ by a 19th-century German stigmatic and visionary, Anne Catherine Emmerich. This once-obscure book recently achieved a much higher profile because it was used as an inspiration for the screenplay of Mel Gibson's controversial movie, The Passion of the Christ. A riveting 'you are there' account of this pivotal event, the story is told with great attention to small details, many not mentioned in the Gospels. This is not a novelization; it is a recounting of Emmerich's ecstatic visions, which were accompanied by painful and mysterious physical torments. Emmerich was practically illiterate and this book was dictated by her, which makes the fact that the narrative is so internally coherent all the more compelling."Jesus Christ, the second Adam, was pleased to let sleep come upon him-the sleep of death on the cross, and he was also pleased to let his side be opened, so that the second Eve, his virgin spouse, the Church, the mother of all living, might be formed from it."— Anne Catherine Emmerich (The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ)