Biography
Edith Stein was born into a prominent Jewish family in Germany but lost her faith and became an atheist in her teens. A brilliant student, she earned a doctorate in philosophy under Edmund Husserl. One night, while staying with friends, she read the autobiography of St. Teresa of Ávila in a single sitting, declaring at dawn, 'This is the truth.' She was baptized in 1922 and became a leading Catholic philosopher and speaker on the dignity of women. In 1933, she entered the Carmelite monastery in Cologne, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. As Nazi persecution intensified, she was moved to a convent in the Netherlands. In retaliation for the Dutch bishops' condemnation of Nazi racism, all Catholic Jews in the Netherlands were arrested. Edith was sent to Auschwitz, where she comforted the children and women before being gassed.
Miracles & Signs
- ✦Healing of Teresa Benedicta McCarthy from a fatal dose of paracetamol (Canonization miracle)
Wisdom & Quotes
“Do not accept anything as truth if it lacks love. And do not accept anything as love which lacks truth.”
“Anyone who seeks truth seeks God, whether or not he realizes it.”
“Come, we are going for our people.”