Montreal, May 22, 2017 – In Montreal and all over the world, Bahá’ís and their friends celebrated the anniversary of the Declaration of the Báb in the evening on Monday, May 22.
 
The event took place at Loyola Chapel of Concordia university with some 150 friends and members of the Community.  Special prayers accompanied with music and historical texts were read by the youth of the Community and a video relating the events of the time of the declaration of the Báb was shown.
 
The event was organized by the Bahá’í friends of Saint-Laurent-Ahuntsic-Cartierville with help of Children and youth as well as a talented piano player, Rigoberto.
 
Known by the title “the Báb”—meaning “the Gate” in Arabic, a young Persian merchant named Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad, announced in the mid-nineteenth century that He was the bearer of a message destined to transform the life of humanity. His teachings open the gate to a new age of social transformation. He called for immediate spiritual and moral reformation, including the advancement of women and improvement of the lot of the poor. He founded a distinct, independent religion, and inspired His followers to carry out acts of heroism that would contribute to the spiritual emancipation of their fellow countrymen. In His homeland, now called Iran, the Báb’s message aroused excitement and hope, rapidly attracting thousands of followers from a cross-section of classes.
 
Ultimately, the Báb’s mission was to prepare humanity for the coming of another, greater Messenger of God: Bahá'u'lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith. The Báb taught that Bahá'u'lláh would usher in the age of justice, unity, and peace promised by all the world’s religions. The Báb was executed by the state in 1850, just six years after His first public announcement, but His ministry shook the foundations of His homeland and began to spread beyond the borders of Persia. Today, the Bahá’í Faith is established in virtually every country of the world, and about 2,100 ethnic groups—including indigenous peoples—comprise its membership.