August 9
St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
Born Edith Stein, a Jewish philosopher who converted to Catholicism, became a Carmelite nun, was arrested by the Nazis, and killed at Auschwitz in 1942. She is one of the co-patrons of Europe, declared so by John Paul II, who saw in her life the meeting of Jewish and Christian witness in the heart of the twentieth century's greatest evil.
Why it matters for your parish:
A co-patron of Europe whose life bridges Jewish and Catholic tradition and who died in the Holocaust — profoundly relevant for Jewish-Catholic dialogue and reflection on martyrdom.
Graphics for this saint are coming soon.