of the
greatest and most glorious revelation the world has witnessed is
embosomed; on whose soil so many saints, heroes and martyrs, associated
with both of these revelations, have lived, struggled and died--such a
continent, so privileged among its sister continents and yet so long and
so sadly tormented, now stands at the hour of the launching of a
world-encompassing Crusade, on the threshold of an era that may well
recall, in its glory and ultimate repercussions, the great periods of
spiritual revival which, from the dawn of recorded history have, at
various stages in the revelation of God's purpose for mankind, illuminated
the path of the human race.

May this Crusade, launched simultaneously on the Asiatic mainland, its
neighboring islands and the Antipodes, under the direction of eight
national spiritual assemblies, and through the operation of eight
systematic teaching plans, and the concerted efforts of Baha'i communities
in both the East and the West, provide, as it unfolds, an effective
antidote to the baneful forces of atheism, nationalism, secularism and
materialism that are tearing at the vitals of this turbulent continent,
and may it re-enact those scenes of spiritual heroism which, more than any
of the secular revolutions which have agitated its face, have left their
everlasting imprint on the fortunes of the peoples and nations dwelling
within its borders.

[October 1953]

Triple Announcement on Conclusion of Holy Year

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 o