A continent, occupying such a central and strategic position on the entire planet; so rich and eventful in its history, so diversified in its culture; from whose soil sprang both the Hellenic and Roman civilizations; the mainspring of a civilization to some of whose features Bahá’u’lláh Himself paid tribute; on whose southern shores Christendom first established its home; along whose eastern marches the mighty forces of the Cross and the Crescent so frequently clashed; on whose southwestern extremity a fast evolving Islamic culture yielded its fairest fruit; in whose heart the light of the Reformation shone so brightly, shedding its rays as far as the outlying regions of the globe; the wellspring of American culture; whose northern and western fringes were first warmed and illuminated, less than a century ago, by the dawning light of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh; in whose heart a community, so rich in promise, was subsequently established; whose soil was later sanctified by the twice-repeated visit of the appointed Center of His Covenant; which witnessed, in consequence of the rise and establishment of the Administrative Order of His Faith, the erection of two of the foremost pillars of the future Universal House of Justice; which, in recent years, sustained the dynamic impact of a series of national plans preparatory to the launching of a World Spiritual Crusade—such a continent has at last at this critical hour—this great turning-point in its fortunes—entered upon what may well be regarded as the opening phase of a great spiritual revival that bids fair to eclipse any period in its spiritual history.
May the elected representatives of the national Bahá’í communities entrusted with the conduct of this momentous undertaking launched on the soil of this continent, aided by the Hands of the Cause and their Auxiliary Board, reinforced by the local communities, the groups and isolated believers sharing in this massive and collective enterprise, and supported by the subsidiary agencies to be appointed for its efficient prosecution, be graciously assisted by the Lord of Hosts to contribute, in the years immediately ahead, through their concerted efforts and collective achievements, in both the teaching and administrative spheres of Bahá’í activity, to the success of this glorious Crusade, and lend a tremendous impetus to the conversion, the reconciliation and the ultimate unification of the divers and conflicting peoples, races and classes dwelling within the borders of a travailing, a sorely agitated, and spiritually famished continent.
May all the privileged participators, enlisting under the banner of Bahá’u’lláh for the promotion of so preeminent and meritorious a Cause, be they from the Eastern or Western Hemisphere, of either sex, white or colored, young or old, neophyte or veteran, whether serving in their capacity as expounders of the teachings, or administrators, of His Faith, as settlers or itinerant teachers, distinguish themselves by such deeds of heroism as will rival, nay outshine, the feats accomplished nineteen hundred years ago, by that little band of God-intoxicated disciples who, fearlessly preaching the Gospel of a newly arisen Messiah, contributed so decisively to the illumination, the regeneration and the advancement of the entire European continent.
[July 1953]
Magnificent Response by Communities of East and West
Happy to convey to assembled friends at epoch-making conference the news of the magnificent response by Bahá’í communities in the East and in the West, during the course of the less than three-month interval separating the second and third Intercontinental Conferences of this Holy Year, to the call to arise and befittingly inaugurate the opening phase of the World Crusade. The number of the pioneers, whether white or colored, young or old, on all continents who volunteered for service in both virgin and open territories is past the two hundred mark, including three offers for the leper colonies. Ruanda-Urundi, Samoan Islands, Daman, Southern Rhodesia, Goa, Kodiak Island and Italian Somaliland are already opened.
The settlement of French Equatorial Africa, Solomon Islands, Queen Charlotte Islands, South West Africa, Cape Verde Islands, Togoland, Mauritius, Reunion Island, St. Helena Island, St. Thomas Island, Channel Islands, Aleutian Islands, Azores, Key West, Cook Islands, Monaco, Balearic Islands, Malta, Cyprus, Hebrides Islands, Northern Territories Protectorate, Seychelles, Andorra, Canary Islands and French Somaliland is virtually assured. The northern outposts of the Faith in the Western Hemisphere have been pushed as far as Arctic Bay, Franklin, seventy-three degrees north latitude, and in Europe as far as the Lofoten Islands. A pioneer is en route to Fezzan, Libya, chosen scene of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s banishment by ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamíd.
All the areas within the Western Hemisphere allocated to the United States National Assembly are assigned. A third of the membership of that same Assembly is joining the ranks of the pioneers. The remaining sister national assemblies are now vying in a spiritual race to complete assignments in their respective continents. Funds are inaugurated and sites are being investigated for the purchase of land for the Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs of Rome, Panama City and Toronto and for a national Hazíratu’l-Quds in London. I appeal to the attendants at this conference, in thanksgiving for the manifold blessings abundantly showered upon Bahá’u’lláh’s crusaders, to immortalize their proceedings through the inauguration of funds for the purchase of sites for Temples in that northern city, the scene of the present conference, and in Frankfurt in the heart of the European continent. I am contributing two thousand pounds for the furtherance of these meritorious enterprises.