- “Edith Stein was a woman of Jewish birth who became an atheist by age fourteen, earned a doctorate degree, later converted to Catholicism at age thirty, then wrote a number of theological treatises including “The Prayer of the Church.” At age forty-two, Edith entered the Carmel of Cologne as a nun, and four years later fled to the Carmel at Echt (Holland) to escape Nazi persecution of Jews. While in Holland she wrote: “The thought that we have . . . no lasting home is always with me. I have no other wish than that God’s Will should be accomplished in me. How long I am to be here depends on Him. As to what will happen then, it is not for me to concern myself. But it is necessary to pray much, in order to remain faithful come what may.” At age fifty-one she was arrested, transported to Auschwitz, and executed in August 1942 for faithfulness to her Jewish heritage and opposition to the Nazi cause. Edith—now beatified and known to Catholics as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross—was seen peacefully praying and actively serving her fellowman in the concentration camp until her last moments.”Broken Things to Mend (Jeffrey R. Holland) Kindle Loc. 1096-1104