Edith Stein, known in religious life as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, was a German Jewish philosopher who converted to Catholicism, became a Discalced Carmelite nun, and was martyred during World War II. Born on October 12, 1891, in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland), she was a brilliant student and became a prominent philosopher, particularly influenced by phenomenology.

Her search for truth led to her conversion to Catholicism in 1922. In 1933, she entered the Carmelite convent in Cologne, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Due to the growing threat of Nazism, she was transferred to the Carmel in Echt, Netherlands, in 1938. However, following the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, she was arrested and deported to Auschwitz, where she was killed in the gas chambers on August 9, 1942.

Pope John Paul II beatified Edith Stein on May 1, 1987, in Cologne, Germany, and later canonized her on October 11, 1998, in Vatican City. In his homily during the canonization, he referred to her as "an eminent daughter of Israel and faithful daughter of the Church." Her feast day is celebrated on August 9.