A Love Stronger than Death: The Persistence of Saint Elisabeth in Western Europe

The 800th anniversary of the birth of St. Elisabeth, widely celebrated in Germany in 2007, occasioned numerous publications and generated broad interest across and outside denominations. Many of those books reveal how this saint’s cult has changed over time, and how Elisabeth has (been) adapted to the modern religious experience. In particular, Elisabeth’s charity toward the poor, while continuing to appeal to today’s believers, has also been reinterpreted to support an ecological theology resonating broadly in Germany and abroad. Today’s cult of St. Elisabeth, surprisingly vibrant but stripped of many historical and religious elements, proves the enduring adaptability of saints.