On the occasion of the conclusion of the Holy Year I am overjoyed to share
the following triple announcement with the attendants at the fourth and
final Intercontinental Teaching Conference, marking the termination of
festivities associated with the centenary of the birth of Baha'u'llah's
Prophetic Mission.
The five-year-old, three-quarter million dollar enterprise, constituting
the final stage in the initial epoch of the evolutionary process initiated
over sixty years ago by the Founder of the Faith, in the heart of the
Mountain of God, is consummated. The finishing touches of the installation
of stained glass windows in the drum and octagon, the removal of
scaffolding from the exterior and interior of the edifice, the interior
calcimining of the dome, drum and octagon, tuck-pointing, cleaning and
floodlighting the entire structure have been completed, synchronizing with
the closing weeks of the glorious, twelve-month annals of the Holy Faith.
A steadily swelling throng of visitors from far and near, on many days
exceeding a thousand, is flocking to the gates leading to the Inner
Sanctuary of this majestic mausoleum; paying homage to the Queen of Carmel
enthroned on God's Mountain, crowned in glowing gold, robed in shimmering
white, girdled in emerald green, enchanting every eye from air, sea, plain
and hill.
I am moved to request the attendants at the Conference to hold a befitting
memorial gathering to pay tribute to the Hand of the Cause, Sutherland
Maxwell, immortal architect of the arcade and superstructure of the
Shrine. I feel, moreover, acknowledgement should be made at the same
gathering to the unflagging labors and vigilance of the Hand of the Cause,
Ugo Giachery, in negotiating contracts, inspecting and dispatching all
materials required for the construction of the edifice, as well as of the
assiduous, constant care of the Hand of the Cause, Leroy Ioas, in
supervising the construction of both drum and dome. To two doors of the
Shrine recently named after the first two aforementioned Hands, the
octagon door, now added, will henceforth be associated with the third Hand
who contributed to the raising of this stately, sacred structure.
The second announcement is that the world-wide process of the settlement
of virgin areas of the globe has been accelerated by the arrival of the
following pioneers at their respective posts: Cora Oliver, British
Honduras; Carole and Dwight Allen, Greece; Mr. and Mrs. Xavier Rodrigues,
Portuguese Guinea; Brigitte Hasselblatt, Shetlands; Elizabeth Hopper, Ada
Schott, Sara Kenny and Mrs. Duffield, Madeira; H. J. Snider, Key West;
Hugh McKinley and mother, Cyprus; Max Kenyerezi, French Equatorial Africa;
Elsa Grossmann, Frisian Islands; Helen Robinson, Baranof; Mr. and Mrs. Ted
Anderson, Yukon; Tabendeh Payman, San Marino; Una Townshend, Malta; Rolf
Haug, Crete, swelling the Roll of Honor, raising the number of territories
within the pale of the Faith to one hundred sixty-five. Two additional
pioneers are proceeding to leper colonies in Puerto Rico and French
Guiana. Two valiant pioneers from India and America are preparing entry
into Tibet. Two more members of the United States National Assembly have
volunteered to pioneer, raising the number to five. United States pioneers
are departing to twenty-four virgin territories ere the conclusion of the
Holy Year. The Feast of Names was celebrated last August by two stalwart
crusaders at the weather station at Buchanan Bay on desolate Ellesmere
Island, latitude seventy-nine, less than seven hundred miles from the
North Pole. The irresistibly unfolding Crusade has been sanctified by the
death of heroic, eighty-eight year old Ella Bailey, elevating her to the
rank of the martyrs of the Faith, shedding further luster on the American
Baha'i Community and consecrating the soil of the fast-awakening African
continent.
The third announcement is that preliminary steps have been taken, aiming
at the acquisition of an extensive area at the head of the holy mountain,
scene of the revelation of the Tablet of Carmel, preparatory to the
purchase of the site for the future Mother Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar of the
Holy Land, made possible by the munificent hundred thousand dollar
donation of the Hand of the Cause, Amelia Collins, signalizing the opening
of the second stage in the unfoldment of the mighty process set in motion
by the Author of the Faith.