Born on Yom Kippur, October 12, 1891, Edith Stein died a Carmelite nun at Auschwitz on August 9, 1842. On May 1, 1987, Pope John Paul II declared her "blessed" in beatification ceremonies at Cologne, Germany. The next degree of recognition is sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. Edith Stein has been "venerable", the initial step in the canonization process, for an uncharacteristically short time - since January 23, 1987.