Anna Juliana Gonzaga

Anna Caterina Gonzaga (religious name Anna Juliana; 17 January 1566 – 3 August 1621) became Archduchess consort of Further Austria through her marriage. She became a religious sister of the Servite Order following the death of her husband, Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria.

Early life Portrait of Anna Caterina Gonzaga as a child in MantuaAnna Caterina Gonzaga was born on 17 January 1566 in Mantua. She was the daughter of Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Archduchess Eleanor of Austria. Her godfather was King Philip II of Spain. It followed the death of Ferdinand's first wife, Philippine Welser, and was arranged with the consent of Anna Caterina's father, Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua. The union was probably facilitated by Ferdinand's sister (also Anna's aunt) Archduchess Magdalena. The couple made many pilgrimages together.

Ferdinand II died in 1595, leaving no male heirs; his territories passed to his brother, Archduke Ferdinand III.

Widowhood

After Ferdinand's death in 1595, Anna managed the Innsbruck palace and cared for her two daughters. She is described in contemporary sources as adopting a more austere lifestyle, wearing simple clothing and focusing on religious devotion. She abdicated primary care of her two daughters to the Baroness of Brandes.

At the palace, everyone's day was expected to revolve around religious piety and devotion. Anna was, in her own way, now carrying out a semi-monastic lifestyle; of which she had long desired. She would fast every Friday, her health permitting.

A large sum of Anna Caterina’s money was given to the Catholic Church to finance philanthropic institutions for the poor of Innsbruck and Mantua. She used to invite and feed the poor at her palace. In 1606, she founded a women's double convent for the Servite Order in Innsbruck, consisting of an enclosed convent for cloistered sisters and a Regelhaus for women living in common life without solemn vows. She entered the Servite way of life under the name Anna Juliana on 2 February 1612, and later supported the establishment of a Servite men's monastery and church in 1614. Repository and local histories note that the Servite community in Innsbruck was established between 1613 and 1616 and developed significantly in the seventeenth century.

Upon the completion of the convent, Anna entered the community and took the Servite religious habit, along with the name Anna Juliana, in honour of the founder of the order. It was there that she died in 1621. She was buried in the same crypt in which her daughter Maria was later buried in.

Following her death, devotion to Anna as a saint began to develop. In 1693, a process for her canonization was opened but has not advanced since.

Ancestry