Born in Breslau, 1891, the case of Edith Stein has long divided those of Catholic and Jewish faith. Originally raised as a Jew she converted to Christianity after reading the life story of St Teresa of Avila, marking New Years’ Day, 1922 with her baptism. For the next nine years she taught in a girls school in Speyer, before finally landing a lecturing post in Munster in 1932. Her new role was short-lived – Hitler’s ascent to power brought with it a set of strict racial laws, and she found herself forced to resign her position. Her letter to Pope Pius XI denouncing Hitler fell on deaf ears, and so she entered the Discalced Carmelite Monastrey in Cologne in 1933. Taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross she penned numerous books and studies on spiritualism, and fled westwards to the Netherlands to escape growing fascist persecution. It was to prove in vain; in retaliation for comments made by the Dutch Bishops’ Conference, Dutch Reich Master Arthur-Seyss-Inquart ordered the immediate arrest of all Jews who had converted to Christianity. Both Stein and her sister, Rosa, were packed off to Auschwitz where they were gassed to death on August 9, 1942. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1987 after a young girl made a miraculous recovery having taken a massive overdose of Tylenol. Medical opinion was confounded, with the miracle credited to prayers dedicated to Teresa. The process for sainthood was set in motion, and finally came full circle when she was canonized in 1998. However, since then both Jews and Catholics have squabbled and fought over her sainthood, each claiming her as their own.