St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, also known as St. Edith Stein.
St. Edith was born into a decently well off Jewish family who lived in Breslau, Germany which is now Wroclaw, Poland. Eventually, St. Edith decided to leave Judaism in her teens. As a student at the University of Göttingen, she was able to become very fascinated with phenomenology which was an approach to philosophy. St. Edith was able to excel as a protégé of Edmund Husserl, who was one of the leading phenomenologists during that time. Later on in her life, St. Edith was able to earn a doctorate in philosophy during the year 1916. She was able to continue as a university teacher until the year 1922, when she had moved to a Dominican school which was in Speyer. However, St. Edith’s appointment as a lecturer at the Educational Institute of Munich had ended due to pressure from the Nazis.
After St. Edith had lived for four years in the Cologne Carmel, St. Edith who was then known as Sister Teresa Benedicta moved to the Carmelite monastery which was in Echt, Netherlands, during the year 1938. The Nazis later occupied that country during the year 1940. In retaliation for being denounced by the Dutch bishops, the Nazis had decided to arrest all the Dutch Jews who had become Christians. St. Teresa Benedicta and her sister Rosa, who was also a Catholic, had died in a gas chamber in Auschwitz during August 9, 1942.
St. John Paul II beatified Teresa Benedicta of the Cross during the year 1987 and canonized her 12 years later.
St. Teresa Benedicta is the patron saint of Converts to Christianity and Europe.
Prayer to St. Teresa Benedicta
St. Teresa help us to trust the Lord even during difficult or uncertain moments. Help us to do His will and guide more people to Him.
Amen
St. Teresa Benedicta pray for us
St. Joseph pray for us
May we continue to strengthen our journey to sainthood and keep others in our prayers.
Works cited
Information (read from, not taken):
Franciscan media. “Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. ”Saint Dominic | Franciscan Media. Accessed August 9, 2021.
Images:
Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. August 9, 2021. St. Edith Stein - Google Search.