St. Edith Stein (1891–1942) was a brilliant Jewish philosopher who lost her faith as a teenager, found Christ through the autobiography of St. Teresa of Ávila, became a Carmelite nun named Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, and was murdered at Auschwitz with her sister Rosa in 1942. Pope St. John Paul II canonized her in 1998 and named her a co-patroness of Europe in 1999. Her feast day is August 9. Below are her story, what she is the patron saint of, and prayers to St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.
A short prayer to St. Edith Stein, written for this page:
St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, you searched for the truth with all your mind
and found it in the Cross of Christ.
Pray for all who seek the truth, for the Jewish people and for Europe,
and help me to carry my cross with love. Amen.
Who was St. Edith Stein?
- A Jewish childhood. Edith Stein was born on October 12, 1891, the Day of Atonement, in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland), the youngest of eleven children of a devout Jewish family. Her father died when she was two, and her mother ran the family timber business.
- A philosopher without faith. As a teenager she stopped praying and called herself an atheist. She studied philosophy under Edmund Husserl, the founder of phenomenology, earned her doctorate with highest honors in 1916, and became one of the first women in Germany to do serious work in philosophy.
- “This is the truth.” In the summer of 1921, staying with friends, she picked up the autobiography of St. Teresa of Ávila, read it through the night and, closing it, said, “This is the truth.” She was baptized a Catholic on January 1, 1922.
- Teacher and Carmelite. For years she taught at a Dominican school in Speyer and lectured across Germany, especially on the vocation of women. When the Nazis barred Jews from teaching in 1933, she entered the Carmelite convent in Cologne, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, “blessed by the Cross.”
- Martyr. To escape the Nazis she was moved to the Carmel of Echt in the Netherlands, where her sister Rosa, also a convert, joined her. After the Dutch bishops publicly condemned the persecution of the Jews, the Nazis arrested Jewish converts in the Netherlands. Edith and Rosa were taken on August 2, 1942, and murdered in the gas chambers of Auschwitz on August 9. As they were taken, Edith said to her sister, “Come, we are going for our people.”
Canonization
Pope St. John Paul II beatified her in Cologne in 1987 and canonized her in Rome on October 11, 1998, as a martyr. In 1999 he named her, with St. Bridget of Sweden and St. Catherine of Siena, a co-patroness of Europe.
What is St. Edith Stein the patron saint of?
St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross is the patron saint of:
- Europe (co-patroness, with St. Benedict, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, St. Bridget and St. Catherine of Siena)
- Those who have lost their parents, and converts
- Martyrs and the victims of persecution
- Philosophers, scholars and those seeking the truth
Prayers to St. Edith Stein
Written for this page.
For those seeking the truth
St. Teresa Benedicta, you searched for years before you found Christ.
Pray for (name), who is searching.
Let (him/her) find the truth that is a Person, Jesus Christ. Amen.
For reconciliation between Christians and Jews
St. Edith Stein, daughter of Israel and daughter of the Church,
pray for the Jewish people and for all Christians,
that we may grow in respect and love, and that hatred may never again triumph. Amen.
Feast day
The feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross is August 9, the day of her death; it is a feast in Europe and an optional memorial in the universal calendar.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Edith Stein?
A German Jewish philosopher who became a Catholic and a Carmelite nun and was killed at Auschwitz in 1942.
Why is Edith Stein a saint?
She lived a life of heroic faith and was killed as a martyr in the Nazi persecution of Jews, including Jewish converts.
When is St. Edith Stein’s feast day?
August 9.