St. Edith Stein
Restored Photograph

You can see in her gaze the strength of mind she had. She was a scholar, a philosopher, and a teacher. She wrote books and papers on phenomenology. Edith Stein (1891-1942) was born into a devout Jewish family. She was bright and encouraged to study and learn. Top of her class through her school years, by graduate school she was a student of the influential philosopher Edmund Husserl. She was persistently working her way into the cadre of big philosophy, which was very hard for a woman to do at that time.

Then in 1921 she read the Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila. She immediately felt she had found the truth. She quit her job with Husserl and converted to Catholicism. She taught and studied for the next decade, translating Aquinas and doing other philosophical writing. She became a Carmelite in 1934, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. She continued to write philosophical books for the next eight years. In 1942, all Catholic converts from Judaism were arrested in Holland because the Dutch Bishops had openly complained about Hitler's treatment of the Jews. Within two weeks of her arrest, Edith, along with her sister Rosa, also a convert, were taken to Auschwitz and killed. Surviving witnesses said she helped other prisoners with great compassion. (source: plato.stanford.edu)

Before her death, Edith said, "I never knew that people could be like this, neither did I know that my brothers and sisters would have to suffer like this. ... I pray for them every hour. Will God hear my prayers? He will certainly hear them in their distress." Prof. Jan Nota, who was greatly attached to her, wrote later: "She is a witness to God's presence in a world where God is absent." (source: vatican.va)

Sister Teresa Benedicta is one of four Carmelites recently (recently by a Catholic reckoning of time, that is, within the last hundred years) declared Saints. The others are Therese of Lisieux, Elizabeth of the Trinity, and Teresa of the Andes. We hope this exclusive restored photograph helps draw you closer to our Saint Teresa Benedicta, and thus closer to our Lord.

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** IMPORTANT ** IMAGE IS SMALLER THAN THE PAPER!!
There is a white border around the image. About 0.5" for 5x7, 1.3" for 8.5x11", 1.6" for 11x17", and 1.75" for 13x17", so the image is smaller than the paper!!!

– Acid-free fine art paper.
– Archival pigments, rated to last for generations.
– Cardboard backer
– Above story of the art
– Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal clear bag.

Thanks for your interest!
Sue & John

You might also enjoy original Catholic Art and Jewerly by me, Sue Kouma Johnson, here on Etsy at www.Etsy.com/shop/TreeOfHeaven
Also, check out our Catholic Quote shop, where we are pairing authentic quotes from Saints with Art: www.Etsy.com/shop/CatholicQuote

“In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art.” ~ St. Pope John Paul II

Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson – Classic Catholic Art.