Christian Men and Women

Edith Stein

Edith Stein (October 12, 1891 - August 9, 1942) was born in Breslau (Wroclaw), in the German Province of Silesia, to a very strict Jewish family. She was a very gifted child who enjoyed learning. She greatly admired her mother's strong faith; however, by the time of her teenage years Stein had stopped believing in God (an atheist).

In 1916, she became a doctor of philosophy from the University of Freiburg. After reading about Saint Teresa, Edith became interested in Christianity and in 1922 she converted to Christianity and was baptized a Roman Catholic. She became a school teacher and translated many of the ideas and thoughts of famous Christians into German (including the work of Thomas Aquinas). Edith did not agree with what the Nazis were doing to the Jews and wrote an open letter to the Pope of the time. It was because of this that she was arrested with her sister Rosa, and shipped to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Here they were gassed on August 9, 1942.

The virtues that Edith displayed throughout her life were, Prudence, Justice, Courage (Fortitude) and Faith.