The Greatest of These is Love: The Life of St. Elizabeth of Hungary - Paperback

by Lori Pieper Ofs (Author)

Though St. Elizabeth of Hungary lived 800 years ago, she has a unique appeal for Christians today. Love, rather than politics or ideology, was the driving force of her life. She was a happily married woman who loved her husband and children. She was a lover not just of social justice in the abstract, but of the poor as individuals. Above all, Elizabeth hungered for God, and found him in her everyday activities as a noblewoman, wife and mother before she found him in heroic charity to the poor and in religious life in imitation of St. Francis. The Greatest of These is Love, first written for the 8th centenary of Elizabeth's birth in 2007, and based on the most up-to-date research, will bring us closer to her than ever before. It also includes an English translation of the testimonies given by her closest friends at her canonization process, along with newly-discovered from the process never before translated into English; and a section of prayers for private meditation or group celebrations.

Author Biography

Lori Pieper received her BA in the Humanities and MA in History from the University of Northern Iowa and her PhD in Medieval History from Fordham University, where she specialized in hagiography and women's religious history. Her other historical books include St. Elizabeth of Hungary: The Voice of a Medieval Woman and Franciscan Penitent in the Sources for her Life (2007). She has had articles published in many periodicals, including Our Sunday Visitor, The Catholic Digest and L'Osservatore Romano. She has also worked for some years as a professional translator. Since 1990, she has contributed translations of John Paul I's writings to the journal Humilitas; some of these have appeared in The Smiling Pope: The Life and Teaching of Pope John Paul I (Our Sunday Visitor, 2004) and A Passionate Adventure: Living the Catholic Faith Today (Tau Cross Books and Media 2014). A member of the Secular Franciscan Order, she lives and works in the Bronx, New York.