The past winter and spring have been very difficult for our beloved Guardian, and this is why he has not been able to reply to you, (or to any other National Assembly), for so long. As you know, he has been carrying on the construction of the first stage, the arcade, of the Báb’s Shrine in anticipation of having it finished for the July 9 Centenary Celebrations of His Martyrdom. This necessitated a great deal of excavation of the solid rock behind the Shrine in order to enable the arcade to be built. The Guardian himself supervised this work in order to see it was done the most economical way and as quickly as possible; this took up a great deal of his time and energy.
At the beginning of April, just when he was planning to devote himself to the correspondence of the various N.S.A.’s, Mr. Maxwell, the architect of the Shrine, became very dangerously ill, and until the present time is in Hospital with special nurses day and night. His condition is now very much better, but the constant worry, and the problems arising daily, have hitherto prevented our Guardian and his secretary from answering any mail. He wishes you to know that these are the reasons you have not heard from him for so long.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 28 June 1950 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the NSA of Germany and Austria; ‘The Light of Divine Guidance’, vol. 1)
