Despite their noble standing, Anna Catherina was raised in a pious Catholic household, and Eleanor was particularly fond of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Although the couple had two sons together, neither were eligible to succeed Ferdinand as archduke, except in the unlikely scenario where all legitimate male cousins were extinct.

Though she realized this would postpone her calling to a religious order, Anna respected her parents' wishes and voiced no objection to the marriage.

Before leaving Mantua for Innsbruck, in Austria, Anna Caterina asked that her father fulfill some requests.

Eleanor died in her infancy; Anna would go on to marry Matthias, King of Hungary and Bohemia, later Holy Roman Emperor.

As a way of rectifying his years of resentment and temper, he gave his wife the Chateau of Wohlgemutheium and the Fortress of Thaur.

Aside from her considerable grief, Anna was now responsible for the Innsbruck palace, filled with a great deal of servants and two young daughters.

In her palace Anne lived in small quarters adjacent to a large chapel she had built since Ferdinand’s death, the door connecting the two via a secret hallway.

Anna came to realize that she should allot her considerable wealth to others, and so she gave large sums to the Church for the poor, keeping some for her own family.

She donated especially large sums to religious institutions in the Innsbruck and Mantua areas, often heralded as an informal mother to the needy for her generosity.

In 1606, on the Feast of the Annunciation and in her chapel in prayer, Anne purportedly received another such visit from Mary instructing her to build a convent there in Innsbruck for the Servants of Mary, Religious Sisters of the Servite Third Order founded by St. Juliana Falconieri in the 14th century, of which she was to be a member.

Through prayer Anna received further instruction to build her convent on the grounds of her garden; the first stone was placed on the Feast of the Visitation in 1606.

On 2 July 1607 Anna had the Bishop of Brixen (Christoph IV von Spaur), and her stepson, Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria and Margrave of Burgau, be present for the laying down of the cornerstone.

Following a personal Mass held for her in her room Anna Caterina allegedly had another vision in which the Virgin Mary appeared, assuring her protection.

Anne got out of bed immediately and was completely cured of her ailment, vowing to accomplish the project no matter the odds.

In 1693 a process for her canonization was opened by the Bishop of Brixen/Bressanone of the time, Count Johann Franz von Khuen zu Liechtenberg.