S TERESA BENEDICTA OF THE CROSS (1891-1942) - 09th Aug

 Born into a prominent Jewish family in Poland, Edith abandoned Judaism in her teens. As a student at the University of Göttingen, she became fascinated by phenomenology, 

    an approach to philosophy. A brilliant philosopher who stopped believing in God, earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1916. Edith Stein was so captivated by reading the 

    autobiography of Teresa of Avila that she began a spiritual journey that led to her Baptism in 1922. Twelve years later she imitated Teresa by becoming a Carmelite, 

    taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. She continued as a university teacher until 1922 when she moved to a Dominican school in Speyer; 

    her appointment as lecturer at the Educational Institute of Munich ended under pressure from the Nazis. After living in the Cologne Carmel (1934-38), 

    she moved to the Carmelite monastery in Echt, Netherlands. In retaliation for being denounced by the Dutch Bishops, the Nazis arrested all Dutch Jews who had become Christians. 

    Teresa Benedicta and her sister Rosa, also a Catholic died in a gas chamber in Auschwitz. Pope John Paul II beatified her in 1987 and canonized her 12 years later.




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