The expansion and consolidation of the institutions of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, as a result of the operation of the Plan initiated by your Assembly, on the morrow of one of the severest ordeals which has ever afflicted the German Bahá’í Community, marks a chapter of the highest importance in the annals of the Faith in both Germany and Austria and will be regarded by posterity as a milestone of historic significance in the evolution of the Faith on the European Continent. I greatly value the exertions of both the German and Austrian Bahá’í Communities which have, in recent years contributed so decisively to the rise and establishment of the Bahá’í Administrative Order in the heart of that Continent, which is destined to play a notable part in the prosecution of the world spiritual Crusade recently launched under such auspicious circumstances by the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. The German and Austrian Bahá’í Communities, on whom ‘Abdu’l-Bahá lavished His favours, for whose future He cherished such high hopes, occupying such a central position in a continent endowed with such great potentialities, must by reason of their unique, and predominant position, their past history, their virility, tenacity and splendid accomplishments, assume a preponderating role in the conduct of a Crusade in which all Bahá’í communities dwelling on the European mainland, both young and old, are called upon to participate to the utmost of their capacity and with all the resources at their disposal. They stand, moreover, at this crucial hour in their destiny, on the threshold of a new era in their history—the era that must witness the initiation of their mission beyond the borders of their homeland, and one which must culminate in their carrying the banner of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh across the eastern frontiers of Europe, and as far as the territories lying in the heart of the Asiatic continent. Their task is a twofold one. On the one hand, they must strive to consolidate, by every means in their power, the work already accomplished in their homelands; on the other they must initiate the meritorious task of opening the virgin territories and islands allocated to them in pursuance of the provisions of the Ten-Year Plan committed to their charge. On the homefront the most vital, the most strenuous and glorious task confronting them—a task that will have far-reaching repercussions on not only the fortunes of the Faith in their homeland but on the whole continent as well, and is bound to exercise a far-reaching influence on the destinies of the Faith throughout the world—is the initiation of prompt and effective measures for the selection and purchase of the site of the first Ma_sh_riqu’l-A_dh_kár in Europe to be followed by the adoption of a suitable design and the necessary steps for its execution.