At a joyous gathering of more than 50 invited guests, the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada re-opened the Bahá’í Shrine in Montreal on Saturday, September 8, 2007. Sacred to the Bahá’ís because of its association with the visit to Montreal in 1912 of the Head of the Faith, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the home has recently been restored to its original condition. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá referred to the home as his “second home” and Shoghi Effendi, the Head of the Bahá’í Faith following ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s passing in 1921, named the home a Bahá’í Shrine in Canada.
The Shrine was the family home of William Sutherland Maxwell and May Maxwell, prominent residents of Montreal in the first half of the 20th century and leading figures in the worldwide Bahá’í community. William Sutherland Maxwell was one of Canada’s foremost architects in the first few decades of the 20th century, designing many of Canada’s notable buildings during that period.
The Maxwell daughter, Mary, was raised in the home and later married Shoghi Effendi. Known by her title Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, she lived for many years in the Holy Land at the spiritual and administrative centre of the Bahá’í international community in Haifa, Israel, and traveled extensively. At the time of her death in 2000, she was the most revered and widely known member of the worldwide Bahá’í community.
Present at the opening, in addition to the nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada, the community’s national governing council, were three former members of the Bahá’í international governing council, the Universal House of Justice: Mr. Ali Nakhjavani and Mr. Hushmand Fatheazam, accompanied by their wives, and Mr. Douglas Martin who, along with Mr. Husayn Banani, also attending with his wife, have supervised the restoration of the home on behalf of the National Spiritual Assembly.
Continental Counsellors Ann Boyles and Dan Scott, members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Montreal, and representatives from all regions of Canada, including Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Yukon, attended the day-long event of devotions, talks, tours of the newly opened Shrine, and a bus tour of sites visited by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá when in Montreal in 1912.
Following the passing of Mr. Maxwell in 1952, his daughter Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, had the original furnishings of the home brought to the Holy Land in Haifa, Israel. After her passing, and according to her wishes, arrangements were made to return the furnishings to their original setting in the Maxwell home at 1548 avenue des Pins Ouest. Efforts have gone into insuring the house matches its appearance and condition from 1912, and those who have been fortunate to have seen the refurbished home have commented on the extraordinary beauty, historical accuracy, and spiritually charged atmosphere of the Shrine.
A public reception will be held in a few months to introduce the Shrine to representatives of government, universities, and the very active community in Montreal of those who follow closely restoration and safeguarding of Montreal’s historical sites.