diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/event/EventListeners.java b/core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/event/EventListeners.java
index 71f01f6b37..ecbf98e624 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/event/EventListeners.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/event/EventListeners.java
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ public class EventListeners extends Cloneable implements Serializable {
 				}
 			}
 			catch ( Exception e ) {
-				throw new AssertionFailure( "could not process listeners" );
+				throw new AssertionFailure( "could not process listeners", e );
 			}
 		}
 	}