Edith Stein

Date of Birth: October 12, 1891

Zodiac Sign: Libra

Date of Death: August 9, 1942

Biography

Edith Stein, also known as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, was born on October 12, 1891, in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland). She was the youngest of eleven children in a devout Jewish family. A brilliant student, she went on to study philosophy under the renowned phenomenologist Edmund Husserl, earning her doctorate in 1916 with a dissertation on empathy. Despite her Jewish upbringing, Edith struggled with faith and identified as an atheist for a significant part of her young adult life. Her intellectual journey led her to convert to Christianity in 1922 after reading the autobiography of St. Teresa of Ávila. She was baptized into the Catholic Church and took the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross upon entering the Carmelite order in 1933. Edith Stein’s life was marked by her dedication to both her faith and her scholarly pursuits. She wrote extensively on philosophy, theology, and women’s issues. However, her life was cut short during World War II. As a Jewish convert to Christianity, she was arrested by the Nazis and transported to Auschwitz, where she was murdered in the gas chambers on August 9, 1942. Pope John Paul II canonized Edith Stein as a martyr and saint on October 11, 1998, recognizing her profound faith and her tragic death during the Holocaust.

5 Interesting Facts about Edith Stein

1. Edith Stein was the first woman to receive a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Freiburg.

2. She was a prominent advocate for women’s rights and education, often lecturing on the subject.

3. Edith Stein’s conversion to Catholicism was heavily influenced by reading the autobiography of St. Teresa of Ávila.

4. She joined the Discalced Carmelite Order in 1933, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.

5. Edith Stein was canonized as a martyr and saint by Pope John Paul II on October 11, 1998.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Edith Stein

1. “Do not accept anything as truth if it lacks love. And do not accept anything as love which lacks truth.”

2. “The world doesn’t need what women have, it needs what women are.”

3. “The deeper one is drawn into God, the more one must go out of oneself; that is, one must go to the world in order to carry the divine life into it.”

4. “One cannot desire freedom from the Cross when one is especially chosen for the Cross.”

5. “When night comes, and you look back over the day and see how fragmentary everything has been, and how much you planned that has gone undone… just take everything exactly as it is, put it in God’s hands and leave it with Him.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

As a religious figure and philosopher, Edith Stein did not accumulate personal wealth. Her highest net worth is considered to be her spiritual and intellectual contributions rather than material wealth.