St. Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein)

Summary

Catholic Saints – Episode: St. Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein) Host: Taylor Kemp | Guest: Dr. Ariel Harms | Release Date: August 9, 2025

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Introduction

In this enlightening episode of the Augustine Institute’s Catholic Saints podcast, host Taylor Kemp is joined by Dr. Ariel Harms, a professor of theology and leader of the pastoral theology program at the Augustine Institute Graduate School. Together, they delve into the extraordinary life of Saint Edith Stein, also known as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.

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Early Life and Family Background

Saint Edith Stein was born on October 12, 1891, in Breslau, Germany, the youngest of eleven children in a devout Jewish family. Dr. Harms highlights the significance of her birth during Yom Kippur, the Jewish Feast of Atonement, noting, “[00:59] Edith Stein was born... as her family was celebrating Yom Kippur... that's important for later in her life because she did eventually see that as very significant.”

Despite a supportive and hardworking mother who managed the family’s timber business after the early death of Edith’s father, maintaining the family’s religious faith proved challenging. By the age of fourteen, Edith had lost her belief in God and embraced atheism.

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Academic Pursuits and Philosophical Studies

In 1913, Edith enrolled at Göttingen University to study philosophy under the mentorship of Edmund Husserl, a pioneer in phenomenology. Dr. Harms explains, “[02:36] Edith Stein... studied phenomenology, which is basically examining the world as we perceive it through our senses... a very empirical philosophy.”

Edith’s academic excellence was evident when she earned her doctorate summa cum laude in 1917, presenting a thesis on “the problem of empathy.” Although Dr. Harms admits to not recalling the specifics of her thesis, he emphasizes Edith’s profound intellectual capabilities and dedication to scholarship.

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Moments Leading to Conversion

Several pivotal experiences steered Edith Stein toward her eventual conversion to Catholicism:

1. Witnessing Faith in Action: Edith observed a woman entering the Frankfurt Cathedral during a busy day solely to pray, a sight that puzzled her. This moment prompted her to ponder the depth of true faith beyond mere obligation.

2. Support from a Catholic Friend: Serving as a nurse in an Austrian field hospital during World War I, Edith befriended a recently widowed Catholic woman. Dr. Harms recounts Edith’s reflection: “[06:22] It was the moment when my unbelief collapsed and Christ began to shine his light on me.” The widow’s unwavering faith and ability to provide grief support left a lasting impression on Edith.

3. Literary Inspiration: The summer of 1921 marked a turning point when Edith read The Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila. Enthralled by the book, she spent an entire night reading it, leading her to declare, “[07:13] This is the truth.” This profound realization culminated in her baptism on January 1, 1922, at the age of thirty.

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Conversion to Catholicism

Edith Stein’s baptism was not merely a spiritual rebirth but also an affirmation of her dual heritage. Dr. Harms notes, “[09:02] She was aware that she belonged to Christ not only through baptism spiritually but also through her Jewish blood... she saw herself as a relative of Christ too.” This unique perspective enriched her spiritual journey, blending her intellectual prowess with deep faith.

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Religious Life and Intellectual Contributions

Post-conversion, Edith aspired to join the Carmelite order, inspired by Teresa of Avila. However, her spiritual directors advised against it, believing her intellectual talents could better serve God through academia. For nearly a decade, Edith taught at the Dominican Sisters School and Teacher Training College, focusing on translating works of Aquinas and John Henry Newman into German and delivering lectures on the dignity and vocation of women.

Dr. Harms recommends starting with Edith’s “Essays on Woman” for those interested in her accessible writings. He shares a personal reflection, “[17:14] She wanted to lead others to God... recognizing that we are here to bring other people to God.”

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Persecution and Martyrdom

The rise of the Nazis in Germany in 1933 abruptly ended Edith Stein’s teaching career due to her Jewish heritage. Forced to leave her position, she entered the Carmelite convent in October 1933, adopting the religious name Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. She received her habit in April 1934, made her temporary vows in April 1935, and perpetual vows in April 1938.

Amidst escalating persecution, Edith likened herself to Queen Esther, stating, “[14:51] I am a very poor and powerless little Esther, but the king who has chosen me is infinitely great and merciful.” Her dedication extended beyond her immediate surroundings as she prayed for the safety of her Jewish family and community.

In 1938, Edith was smuggled into the Netherlands to escape Nazi persecution. However, the Nazi regime's condemnation of Jewish Catholics in 1942 led to her arrest. Alongside her sister Rosa Stein, also a convert, Edith was deported to Auschwitz, where she was tragically killed on her feast day, August 9th, 1942. Dr. Harms affirms her status as a martyr, recognizing her ultimate sacrifice for her faith.

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Legacy and Teachings

Saint Edith Stein’s legacy is multifaceted, blending profound intellectual contributions with unwavering faith and courage. Dr. Harms highlights her insights on the role of the laity in the Church, emphasizing that Edith saw scholarship as a form of service to God. She believed in leading others to Christ through her teachings and writings, advocating for the active participation of laypeople in spreading divine life into the world.

Edith’s reflections on balancing earthly engagements with spiritual pursuits resonate deeply with contemporary believers. As Dr. Harms articulates, “[19:43] She learned that deeper devotion to God involves engaging with the world to carry divine life into it.”

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Conclusion

Saint Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein) exemplifies the harmonious blend of intellect, faith, and courage. Her journey from a Jewish family in Germany to a Catholic martyr in Auschwitz offers timeless insights into the power of faith, the importance of intellectual pursuit, and the role of laity in the Church. Through her writings and life, Edith continues to inspire countless believers to seek deeper understanding and active participation in their spiritual journeys.

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Notable Quotes:

• “It was the moment when my unbelief collapsed and Christ began to shine his light on me.” – Edith Stein ([06:22])

• “I am a very poor and powerless little Esther, but the king who has chosen me is infinitely great and merciful.” – Edith Stein ([14:52])

• “If anyone comes to me, I want to lead them to him.” – Edith Stein ([17:14])

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For listeners eager to explore more about Saint Edith Stein, resources such as Formed Catholic offer extensive materials, including documentaries and writings, accessible through formed.org or your local parish.

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Thank you for tuning into Catholic Saints. Join us next time as we continue to uncover the lives and legacies of the Church’s holy men and women.

Transcript

[A]

You're listening to a podcast on Catholic Saints. This podcast is produced by the Augustine Institute, an apostolate helping Catholics understand, live, and share their faith. Hello, everyone, and welcome to Catholic Saints. My name is Taylor Kemp, the vice president of content here at the Augustine institute. And today Dr. Ariel Harms is with me, who is a professor of theology here at the Augusta Institute Graduate School and leader of our pastoral theology program. Dr. Harms, it's great to have you back.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Welcome back to Catholic Saints. The saint we are talking about today is Saint Edith Stein, religious name Saint Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, but probably more commonly known as Edith Stein. Her feast day is August 9th. Dr. Harms, who is Edith Stein?

[B]

So Edith Stein was born in Breslau, Germany, on October 12, 1891, as the youngest of 11 children into a Jewish family. She was born actually as her family was celebrating Yom Kippur, the Jewish Feast of Atonement. Okay, so comes. That's important for later in her life because she did eventually see that as very significant.

[A]

Okay, you're meaning born during Yom Kippur.

[B]

During Yom Kippur.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Okay. And her father died when she was young. Her mother was a very devout Jewish woman, hardworking, but had to fend for herself, look after the family, run their business.

[A]

So her mom took care of the whole family when she passed.

[B]

The whole family once their father passed. So all 11 children ran the family business, which was a timber business.

[A]

Wow, it's an impressive lady.

[B]

So the one thing she couldn't succeed at was actually keeping her children's faith alive.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Edith says that she lost her faith in God and became an atheist earlier in her teenage years, about the age of 14.

[A]

Okay, so, so. And her mom was Jewish?

[B]

Yeah, her mom was. Their whole family was Jewish.

[A]

Okay, so she's. She's a atheist at an early. At an early age. Where does she go from there?

[B]

So she. In 1913, she enrolls at Gattingen University to study philosophy under the mentorship of Edmund Husserl. He is a pioneer in the philosopher philosophy or the area of philosophy called phenomenology.

[A]

Could you give like the quick, what is phenomenology?

[B]

Yes, phenomenology is the basically examining the world that we can perceive through our senses, as we perceive it through our senses. So it's a very empirical sensed philosophy.

[A]

So phenomenology, the phenomena, the events of, like, the stuff of life and studying that.

[B]

Right, right. But we're not interested in, you know, anything transcending the material stuff. No, metaphysics in here. Not talking about the soul or anything like that. Although she certainly encountered.

[A]

It seems perfect for an atheist.

[B]

Yeah, it really was. But, you know, in her philosophy studies, she also encountered some Catholics too.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

But she served as a nurse in World War I in an Austrian field hospital. And then after the war, she passed her doctorate summa cum laude in 1917, writing her thesis on the problem of empathy.

[A]

Interesting. The problem of empathy.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That seems like an interesting topic. Do you know much about her thesis?

[B]

I tried to read it quite a while back and don't remember much of it. I have to say, I might do better.

[A]

Thesis are probably tough.

[B]

They're tough to read anyway. I wouldn't even want to read my own at this point, to tell you the truth. But I'd like now. Now that I have. I mean, I did. I tried to read it almost 20 years ago, now that I actually have a doctorate, it'd be nice to go back and. Yeah, once I. Now that I've got some philosophical education, it'd be nice to go back and try and read it again. I haven't had a chance to at this point, though.

[A]

No, I'm sure. I remember when I was becoming Catholic in my mid-20s, because I wasn't brought up really in much of a Christian tradition. And like, Catholicism just has its own vocabulary and concepts. And I remember, like, I couldn't get through a sentence without having to Google search something. And so anyways, to a. To a much higher degree than that, I can imagine something like phenomenology. If you're not familiar with it, you're just like, oh, I can't get through a paragraph without looking up, without looking for concept.

[B]

Yeah, right. And you know, the way words are used and how they fit together and. Yeah, it's just too technical for me at that point in my life when I was interested in St. Edith Stein, but not yet having studied philosophy.

[A]

Okay, so she's really highly educated.

[B]

She gets a doctorate. She's super highly educated. Now there's a couple of points in this period of her life that kind of put her on the trajectory toward her conversion, eventual conversion. One of them, she witnessed a woman stopping into the Frankfurt Cathedral in the middle of a busy day just to say a prayer. And this made her stop and think. She'd never actually seen anyone going into a church except at the time for services. Right. So she's like, why would someone go in there? She also had the opportunity to witness the faith and strength of a Catholic friend who was recently widowed. And the friend was actually able to provide grief support to Edith.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[B]

Because of her faith. And Edith wrote at the time, or not at the time, but of that time. This was my first encounter with the cross and the divine power it imparts to those who bear it.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

It was the moment when my unbelief collapsed and Christ began to shine his light on me.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Yeah. So she saw that as a real turning point. Even though she wasn't yet, like, ready to convert, she still saw something there in that widow. The power and strength of faith. Right.

[A]

To carry us through suffering.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. So she also, during this time she was doing independent writing after her doctorate because she couldn't get a job in a university. They didn't let women teach in universities at that time. So she was doing her independent writing on the philosophical foundation of psychology and also reading the New Testament, Kierkegaard and St Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises.

[A]

Interesting.

[B]

Yeah, it's quite a variety of reading, but I'm sure she was used to reading to learn. And I mean, we can tell she loved to learn if she had a doctorate at a time when most women didn't get to that point. Right. But the real turning point or the real moment of conversion for her came in the summer of 1921. She was visiting a friend who was actually a Protestant, but happened to have a copy of The Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila. And Edith Stein picked up that book and ended up staying up all night reading it. And when she had finished the book, she wrote that, she said to herself, this is the truth. And so that, you know, maybe six months later, January 1, 1922, at the age of 30, she was baptized.

[A]

Wow. For anyone out there listening, just by way of repetition, that's The Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila, which is a very well known autobiography. I have not read it, but it is on my shelf, I would say. But a lot of people attest to the. That it's an amazing book.

[B]

I don't think that she. I think there's. I can't remember, but I think there's someone else that I've read about that had a similar reaction.

[A]

Really?

[B]

To Edith Stein. Yeah. When it comes to just staying up all night to read the Autobiography of Saint Teresa of Avila and then realizing, no, this is like, this is true, this is true. And it. I wish I remembered who, but there's someone else who had a similar experience.

[A]

So once again, you can just. If you're looking for a good book out there, you can Google that, I'm sure, and Find it?

[B]

Yeah, it's sometimes called the book of.

[A]

Her life, St. Teresa of Avila. All right, so she has these, you know, these three major moments. She sees a woman stopping into a cathedral, forced with the question, why would anyone do that unless they had to by way of mass obligation. And she wasn't doing that. She sees the witness of her friends grief and then discovers kind of like the mystical transformation of kind of grief into glory I'm imagining in the way that a Christian can suffer. Well, and then she reads this autobiography. She's baptized at 30. And then what? Where does she go from there?

[B]

Yeah, so just at that moment of her baptism. And this goes back to, you know, her being born on the feast of Atonement and looks forward to the rest of her life. But she was aware that she belonged to Christ not only through baptism spiritually, but also through her Jewish blood. Right. She was actually in that way a relative of Christ too. So she took both of those aspects, the spiritual and the physical aspect of her connection to Christ. Now after her conversion, she wanted to follow in the footsteps of Teresa of Avila more closely and actually become a Carmelite. But, but her spiritual directors were against it, thinking she had more to offer, especially because of her intellectual training and abilities. So for most of the time, like nine years after her conversion, she held a teaching position at the Dominican Sisters School and teacher training college.

[A]

Okay. So her spiritual directors prevail. She feels this religious call, but they're pushing otherwise. And she goes nine years.

[B]

She goes nine years that she's unable to follow this call. Instead she's teaching at the teacher training college and she spends time doing some academic work, translating some Aquinas, some of John Henry Newman's pre conversion works, all into German. She also at this time gave lectures on the dignity and vocation of women. And if anyone wants to find anything that Edith Stein has written, those are probably her most accessible writings.

[A]

So if you're looking for a good place to start for Edith Stein, what would they look up?

[B]

So I think the volume that you can find is called Essays on Woman. And she also spent time doing her own philosophical writings too.

[A]

Okay, do you have favorite writings of.

[B]

Hers, the ones that I, because of when I encountered her in my life and what I've read, the essays on Woman were probably the ones that I found most attractive. There's also a beautiful excerpt from her for her feast day in the office of Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours that has to do with the cross. And that's absolutely beautiful.

[A]

That's great. Yes, There's a. There's a good book out there that I'm a fan of. It's short. It's a short book on married life. So for anybody out there who is either contemplating marriage or is married, it's called the Obedience Paradox. And anyways, there's lots of good things in that book, but one of them, this author, Mary Stanford, quotes St. Edenstein a lot on the vocation of woman, on feminine genius, on things like this. And they're beautiful. But I was surprised to find in the book that actually Edith Stein said quite a lot about men and masculinity. And I was, as a. As a man reading this, I was like, wow, she's spot on. Like, that's really good. It was so insightful. I loved it. I was like, I didn't know that. I had heard some of. Some of her work on women. But she says quite a lot by way of males, which makes total sense because it's hard to talk about either males or females without reference to the other in our complementarity. So would highly recommend as well, just by way of, like, even the anecdotal snippets that I've encountered. Okay, so she is teaching. She. Have you gotten to the part where she enters religious life yet?

[B]

No, not yet. Not yet. Not yet. So when the Nazis come to power in Germany, that's when she loses her teaching position. 1933. And so because she's Jewish, of her Jewish heritage, she's no longer allowed to teach. And at this point, her spiritual director no longer stood in the way of her entrance into the Carmelite order.

[A]

So, yeah, okay, so the Nazis come to power. She's getting out of teaching. She enters the monastery.

[B]

She enters the Carmelite convent. Yes, in October of 1933, receives the habit in April of 1934, and receives the religious name Sister Teresa Benedicta Accruche. Sister Teresa, blessed by the Cross or Blessed of the cross, made her temporary vows in April of 1935, and in April 1938, made perpetual vows. And she thought of herself, especially during this time of persecution, of her family, her Jewish family. Right. I mean, not only her literal brothers and sisters, but also, you know, the whole Jewish people in Germany. She thought of herself as a kind of Queen Esther, she says. I keep thinking of Queen Esther who was taken away from her people precisely because God wanted her to plead with the king on behalf of her nation. I am a very poor and powerless little Esther, but the king who has chosen me is infinitely great and merciful. This is a great comfort wow.

[A]

What a beautiful biblical application.

[B]

Yeah. So she sees her life of prayer in Carmel as a pleading for the Jewish people who were being persecuted at the time. And the persecution got to be so great, actually, that in 1938, she was smuggled across the border into the Netherlands out of Germany, to keep her safe from persecution by the Nazis.

[A]

Wow. Okay. And then how long is she in the convent? And how does she come to the end of her life?

[B]

Yeah. So in 1942, the Dutch bishops actually make a public condemnation of the Nazi racism against Jews. And that's when the Nazis come for the Jew, the Catholic Jews in the Netherlands. And that includes, at this time, St. Teresa Benedicta, Sister Teresa Benedicta, and her sister Rosa. Her sister Rosa had also converted to Catholicism and was not a sister, but living in the convent or helping the sisters in the convent. So they're taken from their convention by the Nazis and eventually brought to Auschwitz in August of 1942. And it was probably on August 9th that Sister Teresa Benedicta and her sister were gassed in the gas chambers at Auschwitz.

[A]

Wow. Is she considered a martyr?

[B]

She is considered a martyr. She is considered a martyr, yes.

[A]

Wow. Okay. She has an incredible life. It's a great story with a beautiful end. Tragic in the human sense, but beautiful in the heavenly sense. So you said at the beginning of this episode that you have a deep love of her. Tell us a little bit more about that. Like, what have you kind of drawn from. From her teaching? What inspiration have you taken from her? What has fostered this kind of love of her in you?

[B]

There's several things. One that just came out as I was reading this again, was her beautiful understanding of the role of the laity in the church, which, you know, since she died a religious sister, it's hard to see how that might be applicable or where that might come through. But recognize that she spent the first nine years of her life as a Catholic wanting to be a religious, but also being convinced because it was, you know, her spiritual directors told her that that wasn't her vocation, at least at that point, that there must be something she should be doing for God as a layperson. Right. So she learned that it was possible to pursue scholarship as a service to God, which, as someone who pursues scholarship myself, I see that as very applicable to my own life, too. She also had a beautiful thought that she wanted to be a tool of the Lord in everything that she taught. So she said, if anyone comes to me, I want to lead them to him. Right. So just, you know, that kind of recognition that we're here to bring other people to God.

[A]

Yep. That is beautiful. Well, Dr. Harms, we were close to time here. Is there anything else you'd like to mention about Saint Ina Stein? Anything. Any other little tips for what listeners out there could learn from her or drawn to their own spiritual lives?

[B]

So another. Another point to go with this whole idea of her kind of giving. Giving some guidance to us as lay faithful here. She said, and she wrote this, I'm just going to use her words rather than put it into my own words. But she said, during the time immediately before and quite some time after my conversion, I thought that leading a religious life meant giving up all earthly things and having one's mind fixed on divine things only gradually, however, I learned that other things are expected of us in this world. I even believe that the deeper someone was drawn to God, the more he has to get beyond himself in this sense, that is to go into the world and carry divine life into it.

[A]

That's beautiful.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. And it's so incarnational. Like it. Because there's a temptation within Christianity to a type of, like, escapism, like, I'm just gonna get out of here and it's just gonna be me and God. It's like, that's not what God did. He came into our world like, fully. And as Christians, we're. We are called to participate in that. And there's different ways of doing that according to states in life. But so incarnational, it's like, no, we are like, we are called to be Christ in the midst of whatever communities the Lord calls us. That is beautiful. So thank you, Dr. Harms, for joining us and thank you listeners out there. We hope these episodes are edifying, educational, inspirational, giving us. The Lord gave us these great models in the saints and we hope to make those just available to you in little ways. So if we have a great movie on Formed on St. Edeshtein, if you haven't heard of Formed, you can just search Formed Catholic in Google or go to watch formed.org and sign up for a free trial or see if you get it through your parish. But there's lots of great content and there's a lot of great content on St. Edith Stein on there. Alrighty, everyone. Well, we will see you next time on Catholic Saints.