May Maxwell and the Montreal Community

Some time that summer at the pressing invitation of the friends in California, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá decided that He would, after all, visit the Western part of America. But there was somewhere He wanted to go first. May Maxwell, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s ‘beloved handmaid, distinguished disciple’ had established the first permanent Bahá’í community in Canada, after having established the first Bahá’í community in France a decade earlier.

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On the occasion of her move from Paris to Montréal as the bride of the talented young architect Sutherland Maxwell, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had written to her, “Thou wert as pure gold and didst enter the fire of tests... Gird up then thy loins, strengthen thy resolve, and arise with a mighty heart to promote the Word of God. . . in that remote region.” Now, there was a small but thriving Bahá’í community in Montreal.

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