| ←232 | Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1986-2001 Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Bahá’í Faith in Brazil |
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| 22 AUGUST 1996 |
To all National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Bahá’í Friends,
233.1 It is with feelings of deep gratitude to Bahá’u’lláh that we share with the Bahá’í world the news of a historic event which has just transpired in Brazil. As representative of the Bahá’í World Center, the Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum attended, as honored guest, a special session of the Brazilian Federal Chamber of Deputies called for the purpose of marking the 75th anniversary of the introduction of the Bahá’í Faith into that country. Glowing tribute was paid to the life and work of Amatu’l-Bahá herself, as a defender of the cause of world peace and unity, an advocate of the interests of indigenous peoples, and a promoter of the social development of the earth's inhabitants and the safeguarding of the environment.
233.2 The session was attended by 90 Federal Deputies and was reported by both the press and the broadcast media. The addresses of the 14 Deputies who spoke included many appreciations of both the principles of the Faith and the benefits that their application has already brought to many localities in the country. Highly gratifying, too, was the recognition expressed of the role of Leonora Holsapple Armstrong, the Bahá’í pioneer through whose sacrificial efforts the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh was established in Brazil.
233.3 Bahá’ís present were deeply touched when, at the invitation of the Deputy who had been asked by the Speaker to close the session with a Bahá’í prayer for unity, the entire company arose and stood in reverent silence as Bahá’u’lláh's words were recited.
233.4 The following day, Amatu’l-Bahá had a cordial meeting with President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Brazil's Head of State.
233.5 This momentous acknowledgement of the transforming power of the Faith, so generously expressed by the governing institutions of one of the world's major nations, demonstrates both the calibre of the Brazilian believers and the growing receptivity of the world to the Message of the Cause.
- THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
