Church of the Holy Cross

with grave and memorial site of Ann-Katharina Emmerick

The Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche is a Roman Catholic parish church in Dülmen and was built in 1938 as a parish church and at the same time as a burial and pilgrimage church for Anna Katharina Emmerick. The mystic, who died in 1824, was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2004. Her bones lie in the grave and memorial site near the crypt of the church. Objects of her personal use as well as the original hospital room offer an insight into the life of the faithful.

Dülmen Marketing e.V. organises tours of the Holy Cross Church including a guided tour of the town on a regular basis and on request. Participants visit the Holy Cross Church with the burial place and memorial of Blessed Anna Katharina Emmerick. Objects of her personal use as well as the original sick room offer an insight into the life of the mystic of the Münsterland. Afterwards, enjoy coffee and cake and take part in a guided tour of the town.

Visits to the church and the tomb in the crypt: daily from 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.Visits to the
memorial under the crypt: Saturdays from 3.30 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. and by appointment.

The "Anna Katharina Emmerick" cycle tour organised by Dülmen Marketing e.V. includes getting to know Dülmen's monasteries and cycling pilgrimages through the surrounding area, including two overnight stays. The tours take place by arrangement between April and October and can be adapted.

In 1938, the Kreuzkirche was built as a parish and at the same time burial and pilgrimage church for Anna Katharina Emmerick. The building made of quarry stone from Ibbenbüren was the last church building in Germany to be consecrated before the Second World War by Bishop Clemens August Graf von Galen in November. The interior is characterised by dramatic lighting, which the church architect (Prof. Dominikus Böhm) used deliberately. During a remodelling in 2004/2005, the tomb of Blessed Anna Katharina Emmerick was moved to the area with the greatest amount of light, as Böhm had already conceived.