Built by residents as thanks to God the Edith-Stein-Kapelle stands as a beacon. It is a testament to protection received during countless aid transports. Architect Fritz Lill oversaw its construction.
The cornerstone was laid on May 12 1992. Young and old built the chapel together. Their hands shaped this sacred space. Stones within the walls tell stories of these transports. They recall journeys to Poland and Ukraine. For twelve years they have remembered trips to the Roma settlement in Habes in the East-Slovakai.
The altar stone came from Lipowez a mountain village in Ukraine. Another stone comes from Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is a place where Edith Stein a Cologne Carmelite was murdered in 1942. She was killed as a converted Jew. The chapel is named in her memory. It is called Edith-Stein-Kapelle vom Frieden meaning Edith Stein Chapel of Peace.
Bruder Lukas Ruegenberg from Maria Laach Abbey designed the windows. He also created the cross. He painted the ceiling with themes from the Sermon on the Mount. In the apse beneath the image of Christ these words are inscribed. “Blessed are you for you gave me food. I was a stranger and you took me in. I was in prison and you came to me.”
The Edith-Stein-Kapelle is a place of community. It connects the living and the dead. It offers refuge stillness and prayer for all residents. It stands in the middle of the residential area of Bilderstöckchen.
Edith Stein was born into an observant Jewish family. She was born in Breslau now Wrocław Poland. Her birthday fell on Yom Kippur. She converted to Catholicism later in life.
She was a German Jewish philosopher. She became a Discalced Carmelite nun. She was murdered in a gas chamber at Auschwitz II-Birkenau. The date was August 9 1942. She is canonized as a martyr and saint. She is one of six patron saints of Europe.
Stein took lessons to become a nursing assistant during World War I. She worked in an infectious diseases hospital. She completed her doctoral thesis at the University of Freiburg in 1916. She became Edmund Husserl’s assistant.
Reading about Teresa of Ávila drew Stein to Christianity. She was baptized on January 1 1922 into the Catholic Church. She wanted to become a Discalced Carmelite nun. Her spiritual mentor dissuaded her initially. She taught at a Jewish school in Speyer.
Nazi government policies forced her to leave her teaching post. She entered the Discalced Carmelite monastery in Cologne. She took the name Teresia Benedicta a Cruce.
To ensure safety Stein and her sister Rosa moved to Echt Netherlands. The Dutch bishops condemned Nazi treatment of Jews. In response the Gestapo arrested baptized Catholics of Jewish origin. Stein and her sister were among them.
They were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. They were murdered in the Birkenau gas chambers on August 9 1942. Edith Stein’s life story is a reminder of faith courage and sacrifice. The Edith-Stein-Kapelle honors her memory. It promotes peace and community.