ST. EDITH STEIN

This Catholic stained glass window is a reflection on St. Edith Stein. Edith Stein was born on October 12, 1891 and died in Auschwitz concentration camp on August 9, 1942. She was a German-Jewish philosopher, a Carmelite nun, martyr, and saint of the Catholic Church, who died at Auschwitz. In 1922, she converted to Christianity, was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church and was received into the Discalced Carmelite Order in 1934. She was canonized as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (her Carmelite monastic name) by Pope John Paul II in 1998. For more information on her life go to www.newadvent.org and type in her name in their internal search engine

At the top of the window is a dove surrounded by tongues of fire. The dove represents the Holy Spirit and the tongues of fire represent the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, which St. Edith Stein made fruitful use of. Below the central image are three ovals. The one on the left contains the shield of the Discalced Carmelite order. The one on the right contains the Holy Eucharist. The central oval contains the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On top of the outer frame are seven fire-like winged shapes that represent the seven spirits (angels) of God that surround his throne in the book of Revelation.  The twenty light blue circles in the border around the window represent the twenty mysteries of the rosary, which is a contemplative prayer of the life of Jesus, Mary. The eighteen yellow, orange, red diamond like shapes in between the rosary beads represent the angels assigned to help St. Edith Stein in her writings and martyrdom.