Edith Stein

Play 3, 2008

Edith Stein

Season Closed

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In a world of lies, one woman's search for truth…

From the university, to the convent,
to the horrors of Nazi occupation.

Villanova Players’ upcoming production of Edith Stein, the true story of one of Germany’s most inspiring and controversial converts to Catholicism, offers a timely challenge for audiences

Born into a Jewish family in 1891, Edith Stein was a German philosopher and an atheist who became a Catholic in 1922 and a Carmelite nun in 1934.

Edith and her sister Rosa (also a Carmelite) were arrested by the Nazis in 1942, along with other Jews who had converted to Roman Catholicism.

The play, from 29 August to 13 September, follows recent Catholic World Youth Day celebrations, and the 9 August Feast Day of Edith Stein - Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross - which marks 66 years since her death.

This year is also the tenth anniversary of her canonisation on 11 October 1998.

The Director

Brian Cannon has directed and appeared in numerous plays for Villanova Players. In 2007 he directed the powerful 'The Beauty Queen of Linane" and his most recent on stage appearances were as the judge in "To Kill a Mockingbird" in 2005 and the swaggering, belligerent Big Daddy in Tennessee Williams "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof".

“In the face of hatred and suffering, which the Nazis inflicted on her Jewish friends and family, Edith confronted the greatest challenge of her life,” Brian said.

“Edith lived a life of peace within the Carmelite order, fought anti-Semitism and worked to further understanding between Catholics and Jews.”

Brian said the play was a powerful dramatisation of Edith’s life, her learnings, the heartbreaking sacrifices she made for her faith, and her strong belief in God.

“She is a truly remarkable, inspiring example of someone with faith against all odds."