---
title: "St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross: Feast Day August 9"
url: https://blessbible.app/saints/st-teresa-benedicta-of-the-cross/
description: "St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr, patron of Europe and converts. Remembered on August 9, died 1942. Read their life in Bless."
---

Virgin and Martyr · Remembered on August 9

# St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross is remembered on August 9 in Bless’s calendar of saints. Traditionally invoked as patron of Europe and converts.

|  |  |
|---|---|
| Remembered on | [August 9](https://blessbible.app/saints/august/#9) |
| Title | Virgin and Martyr |
| Died | 1942 |
| Patron of | [Europe](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#europe), [converts](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#converts) |
| Next on Bless’s Today screen | [Monday, August 9, 2027](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-teresa-benedicta-of-the-cross/#calendar) |

## Life

Edith Stein, daughter of a devout Jewish family of Breslau, brilliant philosopher and assistant to Edmund Husserl, and an atheist from her teens — until a night spent reading Teresa of Ávila’s autobiography ended with ‘this is the truth.’ Baptized in 1922, she became a renowned lecturer and translator, and in 1933 entered the Cologne Carmel.

Smuggled to a Dutch convent as the persecution grew, she was arrested with her sister Rosa in the Nazi reprisal for the Dutch bishops’ protest, and died at Auschwitz on August 9, 1942 — a daughter of Israel and of the Church, co-patroness of Europe.

## Patron of

Tradition invokes St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross as patron of Europe and converts.

[Europe](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#europe) [Converts](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#converts)

### Saints with the same patronage

- [St. Catherine of Siena](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-catherine-of-siena/) Europe · April 29
- [St. Benedict of Nursia](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-benedict-of-nursia/) Europe · July 11
- [St. Bridget of Sweden](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-bridget-of-sweden/) Europe · July 23
- [St. Helena](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-helena/) converts · August 18
- [St. Augustine of Hippo](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-augustine-of-hippo/) converts · August 28

Patronages are traditional, not an official list. [All patron saints in Bless, A to Z](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/).

## In the calendar

The upcoming dates, through December 31, 2028, when Bless’s Today screen shows St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Where the US calendar keeps another celebration that day, it is named instead and no rank is given.

| Date | In the US calendar | Color | Mass readings (US) |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Monday, August 9, 2027](https://blessbible.app/calendar/2027/08/09/) | Monday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time | Green | Deuteronomy 10:12-22 · Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20 · See 2 Thessalonians 2:14 · Matthew 17:22-27 |
| [Wednesday, August 9, 2028](https://blessbible.app/calendar/2028/08/09/) | Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time | Green | Jeremiah 31:1-7 · Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12ab, 13 · Luke 7:16 · Matthew 15:21-28 |

Readings

Later citations were computed by Bless from the US Lectionary cycle — confirm with your parish.

[August 8 St. Dominic](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-dominic/) [August 10 St. Lawrence](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-lawrence/)

[All the saints of August](https://blessbible.app/saints/august/) [Born on August 9?](https://blessbible.app/saints/birthday/#08-09) [A saint for every day](https://blessbible.app/saints/)

Spotted a mistake in a date, a patronage or a quotation? [Report an error](https://blessbible.app/support/#report) and we’ll fix it in the app and here.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Remembered on August 9

On this page

1. [Life](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-teresa-benedicta-of-the-cross/#life)
2. [Patron of](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-teresa-benedicta-of-the-cross/#patron)
3. [In the calendar](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-teresa-benedicta-of-the-cross/#calendar)

In the app

Bless shows a saint every day on its Today screen, with their life and their words. Free on iPhone.