It was a Canadian, [1] of French extraction, who through his
vision and skill was instrumental in conceiving the design, and delineating the
features, of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the West, marking the first
attempt, however rudimentary, to express the beauty which Bahá’í art will, in
its plenitude, unfold to the eyes of the world. It was a Canadian woman, [2]
one of the noblest in the ranks of Bahá’í pioneers, who alone and single-handed,
forsook her home, settled among an alien people, braved with a leonine spirit
the risks and dangers of the world conflict that raged around her, and who now,
at an advanced age and suffering from infirmities, is still holding the Fort
and is setting an example, worthy of emulation by all her fellow pioneers of
both the East and the West. It was a member [3] of that same community who won
the immortal distinction of being called upon to be my helpmate, my shield in
warding off the darts of Covenant-breakers and my tireless collaborator in the
arduous tasks I shoulder. It was a Canadian subject, [4] the spiritual mother
of that same community, who, though fully aware of the risks of the voyage she
was undertaking, journeyed as far as the capital of Argentina to serve a Cause
that had honoured her so uniquely, and there laid down her life and won the
everlasting crown of martyrdom. It was, moreover, a Canadian [5] who more
recently achieved the immortal renown of designing the exquisite shell destined
to envelop, preserve and embellish the holy and priceless structure enshrining
the dust of the Beloved Founder of our Faith.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter
dated 1 March 1951 to the Canadian National Spiritual; ‘Messages to Canada’)
[1] Louis Bourgeois — architect of the Mother Temple of the
West, in Wilmette, Illinois, the construction of which was the first collective
enterprise undertaken by the Bahá’ís of America. He died in 1930.
[2] Marion Jack — “immortal heroine” and “shining example to
pioneers”, who remained at her post in Sofia, Bulgaria from 1930 until her
death in 1954. Her imperishable services are recorded in The Bahá’í World Vol.
XII, 674–677, In Memoriam.
[3] Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum Rabbani (Mary Maxwell) —
daughter of May and Sutherland Maxwell, became the wife of Shoghi Effendi in
1937, appointed a Hand of the Cause of God in 1952.
[4] May Ellis Maxwell—spiritual mother of the Canadian
Bahá’í community, became a believer in 1898, visited ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Haifa in
1899 and returned to Paris to found the first Bahá’í centre on the European
continent, married Sutherland Maxwell and settled in Montreal in 1902, achieved
“the priceless honour” of a “martyr’s death” in Argentina in 1940. For a review
of the vast range of her contributions to the Faith in Europe and America, see
The Bahá’í World Vol. VIII, 631–642, In Memoriam.
[5] William Sutherland Maxwell—architect of the Shrine of
the Báb, appointed a Hand of the Cause of God in 1951, died in Montreal in
1952. His “saintly life” is described in The Bahá’í World Vol. XII, 657–662, In
Memoriam.
(Footnotes to 1 March 1951 letter by Shoghi Effendi to the
Canadian National Spiritual; ‘Messages to Canada’)
