Abstract
The paper sets out the circumstances that placed Edith Stein among a trio of “Co-Patronesses” of Europe, selected by Pope John Paul II late in 1999. After indicating the meaning of “patroness or patron saint” as well as the previous selection of three male patron saints, attention will be paid to the process that lead up to this choice by the pope. The reasons he publicly gave for his gesture will be next commented upon, with special emphasis on Saint Edith Stein. Next, an inventory of texts shows the attention Stein paid in her writings to the other two patronesses, viz., Saints Bridget of Sweden (1303–1373) and Catherine of Siena (1347–1380). Concluding the paper will be some thoughts in the form of a hypothesis as to how the phenomenologist pope from Poland might have relied on his knowledge of Edith Stein to place her alongside the two medieval co-patronesses.
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Notes
- 1.
For Pope John Paul II’s “Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Ecclesia in Europa” summarizing the synod’s work and issued on June 28, 2003 see http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_20030628_ecclesia-in-europa_en.html
- 2.
McBrien [1, 971].
- 3.
See “Egregiae Virtutis,” at Vatican website in its official Latin version http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/1980/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_31121980_egregiae-virtutis_lt.html
- 4.
- 5.
Ibid.
- 6.
See Payne [2].
- 7.
Stein[3, 13].
- 8.
See John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, ed. Vittorio Messori (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994) or Gift and Mystery: On the Fiftieth Anniversary of My Priestly Ordination (New York: Doubleday, 1999).
- 9.
- 10.
See the useful synthesis of the dissertation created by the young Father Karol Wojtła back in Poland from his Roman studies in “Faith in St John of the Cross,” Carmelite Studies 2, trans. Christopher Latimer (1982), 223–273.
- 11.
See Sullivan [6].
References
Harper Collins Encyclopedia of Catholicism, ed. Richard McBrien (San Francisco, CA: Harper Collins, 1995), 971
Steven Payne, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: Doctor of the Universal Church (Staten Island: Alba House, 2002)
Edith Stein, “Prayer of the Church,” The Hidden Life: Essays, Meditations, Spiritual Texts (Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1992), 13
John Paul II, Rise Let us Be On Our Way (New York: Warner Books, 2004)
John Sullivan, “To Pray and Reflect with Edith Stein,” Spiritual Life 50 (Spring 2004, 1), 133–136
Holiness Befits Your House: Canonization of Edith Stein—A Documentation, ed. John Sullivan (Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 2000
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Sullivan, J. (2016). Role for Edith Stein in Her Own Promotion?. In: Calcagno, A. (eds) Edith Stein: Women, Social-Political Philosophy, Theology, Metaphysics and Public History. Boston Studies in Philosophy, Religion and Public Life, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21124-4_22
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