[March 26, 1952]
Progress on Shrine of the Báb
On eve of opening of Holy Year announce to Bahá’í communities of East and West joyful tidings of conclusion of over ten thousand dollar contract with Utrecht firm for the fabrication of twelve thousand gilded tiles to cover an area of two hundred and fifty square meters of dome of Báb’s Sepulcher. Eighteen stained glass windows of drum and twenty-four windows of octagon delivered to Mount Carmel. Stones required for construction of drum and ribs and brim and lantern of dome nearing completion, heralding the early commencement of the erection of the last remaining unit of rapidly rising edifice. Eastward extension of terrace adjoining Sepulcher virtually terminated raising the total length of horizontal area fronting the Shrine to about six hundred feet, adding greatly to the beauty and stateliness of the approaches to the magnificent structure, already enhanced through recent extension of terraces linking Haifa’s oldest and most imposing avenue with Báb’s resting place majestically rising in the bosom of Carmel.
[October 14, 1952]
Achievements of Heroic Pioneers in Africa
Rejoice to share with Bahá’í communities East and West thrilling reports of feats achieved by the heroic band of Bahá’í pioneers laboring in divers widely scattered African territories, particularly in Uganda, in the heart of the continent, reminiscent alike of episodes related in the Book of Acts and the rapid, dramatic propagation of the Faith through the instrumentality of the dawn-breakers in the Heroic Age of the Bahá’í Dispensation. The marvelous accomplishments signalizing the rise and establishment of the Administrative Order of the Faith in Latin America have been eclipsed. The exploits immortalizing the recently launched crusade in the European continent have been surpassed. The goal of the seven-month plan, initiated by the Kampala Assembly, aiming at doubling the twelve enrolled believers, has been outstripped. The number of Africans converted in the course of the last fifteen months, residing in Kampala and outlying districts, with Protestant, Catholic and pagan backgrounds, lettered and unlettered, of both sexes, representative of no less than sixteen tribes, has passed the two hundred mark.