Edith Stein

Edith Stein

Edith Stein was born on October 12, 1891 , Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of Atonement in Breslau Germany now Wroclaw Poland. She was born into an Orthodox Jewish family and was the youngest of 11 children. When she was not yet 2 years of age, her father suddenly died. This left Edith's mother to raise the seven remaining children since 4 had died in childhood and manage the family business. She considered her mother an example of the woman in Proverbs 31, who rises early to care for her family and trade in the marketplace. At around the age of 13 she no longer practiced her Jewish faith and became an atheist although she admired her mother's attitude of total openness towards God.

By studying philosophy Edith came to Christianity. She was one of the first women to be admitted to university studies in Germany. She was an outstanding student. After leaving the University of Breslau, she went to the University of Góttingin to study with Edmund Husserl, the founder of phenomenology. She became interested in his philosophy and when he moved to the University of Frieburg he invited Edith to join him there as his assistant. She then received her doctorate in leading philosophers.

She went to visit one of her friends at their fruit farm. However her friend Hedwig Conrad-Martius and her husband had to go away. Her husband took her to the bookcase before their departure and told her to take her pick. Edith picked at random and took out a large book titled, The Life of St. Teresa of Avila, written by herself. She began reading the book and did not stop until she reached the end. As she closed the book she said, "That is the truth." In the morning, Edith went into town to buy two things, a Catholic catechism and a missal. She knew everything after she had studied them. She went into a Catholic Church, the Parish Church at Bergzabem, to hear Mass for the first time. After the Mass she went to the priest and asked him to baptize her. The priest told her that she needed to be prepared to be received into the Church. He asked, "How long have you been receiving instruction and who has been giving it?" The only thing Edith could say was, "Please, your Reverence, test my knowledge." Edith did not fail in her answers and the Priest agreed to baptize her.