Pope Francis received an official request from the superior general of the Discalced Carmelites, Fr Miguel Márquez Calle, on April 18 in a private audience at the Vatican to recognise the theological legacy of the saint who was martyred in Auschwitz. If accepted, Stein, also known by her religious name St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, could become the fifth woman to be declared a doctor of the Church, a title that recognises a substantial contribution to the Church’s theology and moral life.
With the petition, the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints can officially begin the required process to grant Stein the title. The Carmelites first launched an inter-national commission to gather the necessary documentation required by the Vatican in 2022, a year that marked both the 100th anniversary of Stein’s baptism and the 80th anniversary of her martyrdom. A title that was proposed for her at the time was “doctor veritatis” because of her relentless intellectual pursuit of truth, which after her conversion she recognised in the person of Jesus Christ.