Leonor Porras
Leonor Porras | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 22, 1905 Bogotá, Colombia |
| Died | February 21, 1996 Jamundi, Colombia |
| NSA member | Colombia 1961 - 1969 1970 - ???? |
| ABM | Americas 1969 - 1970 |
Leonor Porras (January 22, 1905 - February 21, 1996) was an early Colombian Bahá’í who served on the countries National Spiritual Assembly and as an Auxiliary Board member.
Biography[edit]
Porras was born in Bogota in 1905. She established a school in the city with Ines Sarmiento in 1930 and was introduced to the Bahá’í Faith by the mother of some of her students, Aura de Sanchez, and declared in 1943. She began teaching the Faith after declaring and a parent reported her to the local Catholic Priest in an attempt to have the school shut down however when she met with the Priest he was convinced that she was not a threat and the school remained open.[1]
In 1944 the Local Spiritual Assembly of Bogota was established and Porras was elected to the body and she held regular deepening classes. In 1959 she officiated the wedding of Luis Montenegro and Ines Romero which was the first Bahá’í wedding in Colombia. She pioneered to Manizales at the close of the 1950's and successfully helped the city establish a Local Spiritual Assembly for the purposes of forming a National Spiritual Assembly of Colombia.[2]
In 1961 the National Spiritual Assembly of Colombia was established and Porras was elected to the body. In the late 1960's she sold her school in order to serve the Faith full time and she was appointed as an Auxiliary Board member in 1969.[3] She pioneered to Venezuela for one year to assist with teaching and then returned to Colombia where she settled in Jamundi and taught at many institutes, training workshops, and youth deepening's with the encouragement of Farzam Arbab.[2] She was re-elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Colombia in 1970.[4]
Porras passed away in Jamundi in 1996 and the Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message after her passing:
LAMENT LOSS OUTSTANDING EARLY COLOMBIAN BELIEVER WARM-HEARTED, MUCH-LOVED MAIDSERVANT FAITH LEONOR PORRAS. HER NOTABLE RECORD OF SERVICE OVER FIVE DECADES LOVINGLY REMEMBERED. PRESENT FUTURE GENERATIONS COLOMBIAN BAHA‘I’S OWE DEBT OF GRATITUDE HER EXEMPLARY STEADFASTNESS ESPECIALLY DURING FIRST DECADES DEVELOPMENT THAT COMMUNITY. URGE HOLD MEMORIAL MEETINGS MAJOR CENTRES. OFFERING FERVENT PRAYERS HOLY SHRINES FOR PROGRESS HER LUMINOUS SOUL ABHA KINGDOM.[5]
References[edit]
- ↑ Baha'i World: In Memoriam 1992-1997, p 286
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Baha'i World: In Memoriam 1992-1997, p 287
- ↑ Baha'i News (1969). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 465, Pg(s) 3. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1970). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 476, Pg(s) 19. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i World: In Memoriam 1992-1997, p 288
