Rúhíyyih Rabbání (8 August 1910 – 19 January 2000), born as Mary Sutherland Maxwell and best known by the title Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, was the wife of Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith, from 1937 to 1957. In 1952, she was elevated to the office of Hand of the Cause of God, for which she attended to issues related to the expansion and protection of the Baháʼí Faith, and served an important role in the transfer of authority from 1957 to 1963. Rúhíyyih Rabbání was raised in Montreal, Quebec. After two trips to the Baháʼí holy land in Haifa, Israel, she engaged in many youth activities in the Baháʼí community. She married Shoghi Effendi in 1937. After his death, Rúhíyyih Rabbání became for Baháʼís the last remaining link to the family of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, who headed the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 to 1921 and was the eldest son of the faith's founder, Baháʼu'lláh. In 2004, CBC viewers voted her number 44 on the list of "greatest Canadians" on the television show The Greatest Canadian. Rúhíyyih Khánum was the author of several published books, such as Prescription for Living and The Priceless Pearl. Early life Rúhíyyih Khánum was born in New York City on August 8, 1910 to William Sutherland Maxwell and May Maxwell, and was raised in Montreal, Quebec where her father was a prominent architect. Through her father, Mary was of Scottish ancestry. The family originated from Aberdeen and Jedburgh. Through her mother, she was primarily of English stock. In 1912, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá visited Canada and stayed in the Maxwells' home. There he met Mary, aged two, and described her as the "essence of sweetness". ʻAbdu'l-Bahá showed much affection to baby Mary. Her mother wanted to give Mary an education that was free of the rigidity of the traditional educational methods in the country, and established the first Montessori school in Canada at their residence, and Mary attended the school. Maxwell began reading and writing at a young age and her pastimes included writing poetry, novels and plays. She spoke English, French, German and Persian fluently. During her youth, she twice traveled to the Baháʼí World Centre in Palestine for pilgrimage – the first with her mother and the second with her mother's friends, aged fifteen. It was during these pilgrimages that she first met Shoghi Effendi, then head of the Baháʼí Faith. In her youth, Maxwell was engaged