This week in Christian history: pope ordained, saint killed by Nazis, John Milton

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, August 09, 2020

Catholic saint executed by Nazis — August 9, 1942

This week marks the anniversary of when Edith Stein, a Jewish woman who converted to Catholicism and became a nun, was executed by the Nazis in a gas chamber.

Also known as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, the Nazis arrested Stein and her sister due to them being ethnically Jewish and executed her along with others at an Auschwitz gas chamber.

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“As many as possible were shoved inside. Anyone who balked was shot on the spot. Guards bolted shut the air-tight doors and discharged Zyklon-B gas into the room through ceiling vents. Within twenty minutes all 264 were dead,” explained the Christian History Institute.

“Edith Stein's life and writings, centered on the cross, have inspired many Christians. In October 1998, Pope John Paul II declared her a saint.”