Born in 1891 in Breslau, Germany which is now Wroclaw, Poland, her birth name was Edith Stein and her parents were devoted to their Jewish faith. 

However, by the time she was a young teenager, Edith had become disenchanted with any spiritual journey at all and was an avowed atheist. 

As she witnessed the devastating impacts of WWI, Edith was moved to become a nurse. Once she began her studies, she moved quickly, all the way through to receive her Doctorate and in the process came across the writing, works, and life of St. Teresa of Avila and was deeply moved by the Carmelite journey. 

This led Edith to a complete spiritual reset and, on January 1st, 1922, Edith Stein was Baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. 

Initially, she taught at a Catholic school but a Nazi law passed in 1933 forced her to leave that position because of her Jewish ancestry. So, she began the process of becoming a Discalced Carmelite nun and in 1934 became a Novice, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of The Cross. 

As joyful as her experience was, this was an extremely dangerous time, and eventually, Teresa and her sister Rosa, who had also converted and become a Carmelite, were sent to The Netherlands for their protection. 

But in 1940 the Nazis invaded the Netherlands and, in 1942, after the Bishop there called for the protection of all inhabitants and denounced the Nazis, all Jews and those with Jewish ancestry were arrested. 

Teresa and Rosa were sent to Auschwitz where they died on this day in 1942. 

St. Teresa Benedicta of The Cross, please pray for us.