Father Luigi Gambero, internationally-known expert on early Christianity, presents an intriguing and comprehensive survey of the development of Marian doctrine and devotion during the first eight Christian centuries. Focusing on the lives and works of over thirty of the most famous Church Fathers and early Christian writers, Fr. Gambero has produced a clear and readable summary of the richness of the patristic age's theological and devotional approach to the Mother of God.

The book contains extensive and numerous citations from the works of those men who developed the defining Christological and Mariological positions that, throughout the ages, have constituted the central and foundational doctrinal teaching of the Church. Each chapter concludes with an extended reading from the works of the patristic authors. A number of these texts have never before been published in English.

The thought of the Fathers and early Christian writers continues to fascinate readers today. Their theological acuity and spiritual depth led them faithfully into the mysteries of Sacred Scripture. Their vast experience and intense faith made them reliable and trustworthy witnesses to the faith of the people of God.

"Solid and majestic scholarship such as this lets the Fathers speak to our own age when Mary's glory is neglected by skeptics and pantomimed by the superstitious."
- Fr. George Rutler
Author, Brightest and Best: Stories of Hymns

"Father Gambero combines skills in Mariology with patristics to provide a marvelous window onto Marian doctrine and devotion in the East and the West during that formative period for Church teaching and doctrinal development known as the Age of the Fathers. The text is equally accessible to scholar and first-time student, greatly aided by the fine translation of Fr. Thomas Buffer. Highly recommended for all, but especially for those interested in helping non-Catholic Christians come to a deeper appreciation of what the Early Church thought and taught about the Mother of God."
- Fr. Peter Stravinskas
Author, The Catholic Church and the Bible

"Fr. Luigi Gambero, a well-known patristics scholar, presents a work of much-needed information on post-biblical developments in Marian devotion. It draws attention to the revival of patristic studies and closes the gap in Marian studies for English speaking scholars. This book is an excellent resource for students."
- Fr. Johan Roten, S.M.
International Marian Research Institute, University of Dayton

Fr. Luigi Gambero, S.M., a Marianist priest, studied philosophy and theology at the University of Fribourg and the Lateran University in Rome. He specialized in Mariology at the Pontifical Faculty of the Marianum in Rome.