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EMERIC SALA
1906—1990
Grieved passing dear Emeric Sala personal friend for over sixty years who accepted Faith Maxwell’s home Montreal. Emeric was very active member our Bahá’í youth group period when Bahá’í youth were few in number throughout Canada. He was a devoted, consecrated, constantly active believer until end of his life: he served in the pioneer field in Venezuela, Africa and Mexico; he was author of a useful and thoughtful book for truth seekers; he was an excellent speaker; and a very capable member of various Bahá’í administrative bodies and committees and was a brilliant protagonist of our Faith in every field of service. May new generation Canadian believers follow his footsteps and seek equal distinction in every field
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of Bahá’í service. Kindly convey my loving sympathy his relatives.
RUHiYYIH
[Amatu’l—Baha Rúḥíyyih ~Khánum]
10 September 1990
Emeric Sala came into this world on 12 November 1906, at the beginning of the “Century of Light”. The timing was propitious, for by the time he reached manhood Emeric was able to play a leading role in building the Bahá’í Administrative Order.
His birthplace was an obscure Hungarian Village called Havas Dombrovica, which roughly translates into “snowed—in Village”. He was the first of four children born to a Jewish lumber inspector, Adolf, and his wife, Charlotte. His parents later moved to Herrmannstadt in Siebenbuergen, today known as Sibiu in Romania, where Emeric spent his school years.
After the first World War, when in his teens, Emeric felt intensely alienated by the prevailing militarism and lack of personal freedom, as well as the social and religious prejudices in the strife—torn Balkan countries. He was drawn to the United States, but there was no immigration quota for him. So he made his way to the German seaport of Hamburg where he finally landed a job as a ship’s helper, sailing for the west coast of Africa. The ship returned to Hamburg and then sailed for Montreal, Canada. When he arrived in 1927, not quite 21 years old, he jumped ship and went into hiding. He dug ditches and washed dishes in a small hotel, but soon got fired because he broke too much crockery.
Apart from his native Hungarian, Emeric spoke Romanian, some German, French, and Italian, but he didn’t speak a word of English. Learning the language became his obsession. Rather than just reading books, he wanted to hear people talk, so he attended every free lecture.
One public meeting proclaiming a new World Order intrigued him. In Emeric’s own words, taken from his autobiography:
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Emerzc Sala
A lovely lady sat in the speaker’s chair. Then a beautiful 17-year—old girl got up and with the greatest of ease, without any self—consciousness, introduced the speaker. The speaker got up and with a radiant smile started to speak. She must have mesmerized me for I could not take my eyes from her. I was not conscious that she was speaking a language I did not understand. I witnessed a kind of beauty and radiance in a person I had not experienced before. I was also impressed by the close and harmonious relationship between the chairman and the speaker. It was only months later that I learned that the unforgettable speaker was Mrs. May Maxwell and the chairman was her daughter Mary Maxwell. They both had an indelible influence on me for the rest of yrny life.
In 1929, Emeric enrolled in the Faith, and soon he and two other young men, Rowland Estall and George Spendlove, began the first Canadian Bahá’í Youth Group in Montreal. They began to hold classes, and soon the attendance was about 60. It was the first orga
THE BAHA’t WORLD
nized youth class in the Western Hemisphere. From that youth group came a Hand of the Cause of God, a member of the Universal House of Justice, two members of the Continental Board of Counsellors, three members of National Spiritual Assemblies, and the authors of three Bahá’í books. One member of the Montreal youth group was a charming young woman by the name of Rosemary Gillies. In 1934, she became Emeric’s wife and they spent 46 years serving the Cause of Baha’u’llah and one another.
The English language, once his handicap, now became his strength. He owned a small import business and had occasion to travel coast—to—coast. In some cities he was the first Bahá’í to ever give a public talk about the Faith. In 1937, at the encouragement of May Maxwell, he extended a European business trip to include Haifa, where he had the privilege of spending an evening alone with Shoghi Effendi. Upon his return, Emeric teamed up with Siegfried Schopflocher, a German immigrant who had built up a large chemical business and who later was named as a Hand of the Cause of God, to purchase the first Canadian Bahá’í property at Beaulac, north of Montreal in the Laurentians, where the first Canadian summer and winter schools were held.
By 1930, Emeric’s sister had married and moved to New York. Just before the second World War, he managed to bring his parents and brothers Paul and Ernest to Canada. Without his foresight, his loved ones would likely have perished in the Nazi death camps.
In 1940, Emeric and Rosemary pioneered for one year to Venezuela and served as traVelling teachers throughout South America. They were the first Canadian Bahá’ís to visit the grave of May Maxwell in Buenos Aires, where May had passed away while on a teaching tour. Before leaving Montreal, she had asked Emeric always to pray for her, which he steadfastly did every day until he left this world.
In 1945, as the world emerged from the global convulsion of the war and many people
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IN MEMORIAM
were searching for a new order in the affairs of humanity, Emerio published This Earth One Country, in which he wrote about such concepts as “planetary economy”, “a supranational community” and “a world plan”.
Emeric and Rosemary were elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly of Canada in 1948, and they continued to serve with distinction until 1953. That year they responded to the Guardian’s call for pioneers at the beginning of the Ten Year Crusade. Emeric handed his business to his brother, Ernest. The couple sold their charming home on the banks of the St. Lawrence River in St. Lambert, Quebec, and prepared to settle in the Comoro Islands off the east coast of Africa.
However, the French authorities refused to grant them residence status in the Comoro Islands, so the Guardian asked them to settle in Zululand instead. There they ran a trading post among the Zulus at a place called Eshowe until the South African government refused to renew their license and they moved on to Port Elizabeth. They befriended many Africans who came to their home through the back door When it was dark, calling Rosemaiy “Our Mother”. She founded school libraries and organized the shipment of books from North America.
After returning to Canada briefly in the late 19603, the couple pioneered again, this time to Guadalajara, Mexico, and travelled extensively in Central America. Rosemary died in Mexico on 24 January 1980. Emeric continued serving at his post and remarried on 27 September 1980. His second wife, Donya, also became a Bahá’í and together they travelled through America, China, India, and Europe. Donya passed to the Abhá Kingdom a few weeks before Emeric’syown death on 5 September 1990.
Emeric, with his six foot, four inch frame, wearing size 14 shoes, always towered above any crowd. He was equally a spiritual giant. The poor Hungarian immigrant boy who knew no English became best known for his book, his lectures, and his stirring public
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addresses. He had overcome all handicaps, burst the boundaries of nation and conventional thought, and devoted his talents and energies to the World Order of Baha’u’llah. When news of his passing reached the Universal House of Justice, it sent the following message on 9 September 1990:
HEARTS GRJEVED PASSING VETERAN TEACHER PROMOTER FAITH EMERIC SALA. HIS WORLDWIDE TRAVELS, HIS HISTORIC EFFORTS IN REARING ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE CANADIAN Bahá’í COMMUNITY, HIS SCHOLARLY WORK, HIS ENTHUSIASM, ARDOUR AND STEADFASTNESS WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED. PRAYING HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS HIS NOBLE SOUL. CONVEY FAMILY FRIENDS DEEPEST LOVING SYMPATHY.
Compiled from material submitted by HARRY LIEDTKE AND JAMESON BOND
