Page "Elizabeth Barton" Paragraph 2

Little is known of Barton's early life.

She appears to have come from a poor background: she was working as a servant when her visions began in 1525.

During that year, she suffered from a severe unknown illness and claimed to have received divine revelations.

These either predicted future events ( such as the death of a child living in her household ) or, more frequently, took the form of pleas for people to remain in the Roman Catholic Church.

She also urged people to pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to undertake pilgrimages.