Sometime that summer at the pressing invitation of the friends in

Sometime 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.

1 / 2

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.

2 / 2