- 1946-00-00 —
In the second Seven Year Plan from 1946 to 1952, the American Bahá'í community was given the responsibility of working for the establishment of bahá'í communities in several european countries. A European Teaching Committee, which was responsible to the North American National Spiritual Assembly, was set up in Geneva in 1946. Its task was to coordinate the pioneer activities in ten European goal countries; Denmark, Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Portugal. [SBBR14p239]
- The Committee was chaired by Edna True. [SBBR14p241]
- Of the pioneers that arrived during this period, Dagmar Dole (stayed 1947 to 1951)) and Eleanor Hollibaugh (stayed May 1947 to October 1948 and March 1950 to October 1950) had the most influence on the growth of the community. [SBBR14p239-243]
- As of 1946 Geresina Campani of Florence was the only known Bahá'í in Italy. In her letter, published in part in Bahá'í News she wrote of the hardship due to the devastation caused by the Allied bombing.
[SYH232]
- 1947-07-05 — Manuel Garcia Vasquez became a Bahá'í in Spain, the first believer in the country.
- 1953-08-11 — Virginia Orbison arrived in the Balearic Islands from a pioneer post in Spain and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for the Balearic Islands. [BW13:449]
It was neither her first nor her last pioneer experience. Between 1942 and 1946 she pioneered to Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Brazil. After World War II she went to Madrid, Spain where she helped raise the first local spiritual assembly and she did the same thing in Barcelona the following year.
In July of 1953 she went to the Stockholm Intercontinental Teaching Conference where she offered to pioneer to Mallorca in one of the Balearic Islands, She stayed about one year before returning to Barcelona in August of 1954 where she attended the Iberian Teaching Conference that was attended by 60 people. Late that nine, she and nine others were arrested by the police and interrogated for 18 hours. They had thought that the Bahá'í were Communists.
In 1956 she moved to Portugal where she was elected to the first Iberian Regional Spiritual Assembly. After three years she was forced to leave by the authorities because of her Bahá'í activities, holding property and owning a telephone.
She was asked to go to Luxembourg where she spent nine years but made little progress in establishing the Faith. She was then asked to got to Malaga, Spain and by 1972 Malaga had a local spiritual assembly so she pioneered to Margella in 1979.
The National Spiritual Assembly asked her to write a history of the Faith in Spain which was completed in 1980.
As was her wish, she passed to the Abha Kingdom in 1985, still a pioneer. [KoB346-347; Wikipedia]
See also Also see Bahá'í World 19 pages 715-721 or 692-697 in the print version and Bahá'í News #586 January 1980 p2-5. - 1957-04-21 —
The Regional Spiritual Assembly for the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain) was formed with its seat in Madrid, Spain. [BW13:274]
- The Assembly was disbanded in 1962 when Spain and Portugal established independent National Assemblies.
- 1962-04-21 —
The National Spiritual Assembly of Spain was formed. Since 1957 the had come under the jurisdiction of the Regional Spiritual Assembly for the Iberian Peninsula. [BW13:283]
- For picture see BW13:281.
- Its first members were: Antonio Jimenez, Luis Ortuno, Francisco Salas, Jose Lopez Monge, Ruhollah Mehrabhkani, Carlos Chias, Ramon Escartin, Isidro Torrella, and Charles Ioas.[Baháʼí News. No. 376. August 1959 p. 14]
- Andorra was placed under the jurisdiction of this National Assembly and with the launching of the Nine Year Plan France was assigned to assist in the consolidation of Andorra. [BW14p121]
- 1969-04-03 — The first European Youth Conference opened in Madrid, Spain. [BW15:329]
- 1970-00-01 — The first Gypsy in Spain to become a Bahá'í, Maria Camacho Martinez, enrolled in Sabadell.
- 1988-09-25 — The first annual Bahá'í Studies Conference of Spain was held in Barcelona. [BINS192:5]
- 1988-10-03 — Thirteen Romanies became Bahá'ís in northern Spain. [BINS186:7]
- 1989-03-23 — The First National Women's Conference of Spain was held in Madrid. [BINS201:6]
- 1993-04-10 — The first Bahá'í Congress of Catalunya took place in Barcelona. [BW92–3:146]
- 2001-11-23 —
International Consultative Conference on School Education in relation with Freedom of Religion and Belief, Tolerance and Non-discrimination, a United Nations conference was held in Madrid, Spain.
- The Bahá'í International Community presented a statement, entitled Belief and Tolerance: Lights Amidst the Darkness. For the text of the document see BWNS141 or on the BIC Site.
- 2004-07-07 — The fourth Parliament of the World's Religions was held in Barcelona, Spain. This unique international interreligious gathering took place within the context of the 141-day Universal Forum of Cultures, an unprecedented series of conferences, congresses and debates exploring peace, diversity, and sustainability. It was attended by about 9,000 peo[;e fro, 74 countries. There were 962 global presenters. The theme of the conference was Pathways to Peace: the Wisdom of Listening, the Power of Commitment. [Barcelona 2004]
- 2009-01-24 — Regional Conferences were held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Sydney, Australia and Madrid, Spain. [BWNS690]
- 2018-04-31 —
Some 80 members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors met for a conference at the Bahá'í World Centre following the 12th International Bahá'í Convention. On that occasion, the Counsellors were able to reflect on major developments in Bahá'í communities around the world. In order to share their experiences some of their stories were recorded and made available via podcasts. The Counsellors discussed the impact of spiritual and moral education programs offered by the Bahá'í community on youth and the communities in which they live, drawing on experiences in Cambodia, Kiribati, India, Norway, Spain, and Timor Leste (or East Timor). [BWNS1264]
- Counsellors in Africa, Alain Pierre Djoulde, Clément Thyrrell Feizouré, Maina Mkandawire, and Judicaël Mokolédiscuss discussed endeavours in the field of education in that continent. [BWNS1269]
- The podcasts can be found here or on SoundCloud.
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