ller, were poor peasants, but distinguished for their piety and
virtue.

The childhood of Anne Catherine bore a striking resemblance to that
of the Venerable Anne Garzias de St. Barthelemi, of Dominica del
Paradiso, and of several other holy persons born in the same rank of
life as herself. Her angel-guardian used to appear to her as a child;
and when she was taking care of sheep in the fields, the Good Shepherd
himself, under the form of a young shepherd, would frequently come to
her assistance. From childhood she was accustomed to have divine
knowledge imparted to her in visions of all kinds, and was often
favoured by visits from the Mother of God and Queen of Heaven, who,
under the form of a sweet, lovely, and majestic lady, would bring the
Divine Child to be, as it were, her companion, and would assure her
that she loved and would ever protect her. Many of the saints would
also appear to her, and receive from her hands the garlands of flowers
which she had prepared in honour of their festivals. All these favours
and visions surprised the child less than if an earthly princess and
the lords and ladies of her court had come to visit her. Nor was she,
later in life, more surprised at these celestial visits, for her
innocence caused her to feel far more at her ease with our Divine Lord,
his Blessed Mother and the Saints, than she could ever be with even the
most kind and amiable of her earthly companions. The names of Father,
Mother, Brother, and Spouse, appeared to her expressive of the real
connections subsisting between God and man, since the Eternal word had
been pleased to be born of a woman, and so to become our Brother, and
these sacred titles were not mere words in her mouth.

While yet a child, she used to speak with innocent candour and
simplicity of all that she saw, and her listeners would be filled with
admiration at the histories she would relate from Holy Writ; but their
questions and remarks having sometimes disturbed her peace of mind, she
determined to keep silence on such subjects for the future. In her
innocence of heart, she thought that it was not right to talk of things
of this sort, that other persons never did so, and that her speech
should be only Yea, yea, and Nay, nay, or Praise be to Jesus Christ.
The visions with which she was favoured were so like realities, and
appeared to her so sweet and delightful, that she supposed all
Christian children were favoured with the same; and she concluded