Leonora Stirling Armstrong (1895- 1980) – “HERALD OF THE KINGDOM, BELOVED HANDMAIDEN of ABDU’L-BAHA, SPIRITUAL MOTHER of SOUTH AMERICA”; the first Baha'i pioneer to settle permanently in Latin America; In 1927, the first Baha'i to visit and speak of the Cause in Colombia, Venezuela, Curacao, Trinidad, Barbados, Haiti, British Guiana and Dutch Guiana; In 1930, found the first Baha'i group of Spain; In 1961 helped with translation of ‘God Passes By’ and ‘The Dawn-Breakers’ into Portuguese

Rio de Janeiro: At dawn on 1 February 1921, the S.S. Vasari plowed through sparkling waters into the majestic harbor. Below deck, in second-class accommodation, watching, stood an attractive, cultured young woman, a lone American. In her heart she nourished the vision of an unspeakably glorious mission, the spread of the Light of God in this day to an entire continent. In her purse, all her savings, barely enough for two weeks' modest expenses. No friends in the city, no job. She spoke no Portuguese. Odd circumstances for one who so readily confessed a lack of self-confidence. Clearly her reliance was placed elsewhere.

Panama City: Half a century later at an international conference held in connection with the dedication of the first Baha'i House of Worship in Latin America, this same slight and soft-spoken woman - Leonora Stirling Armstrong - was presented to the thousands of believers gathered there. Spontaneously they rose to pay tribute to her achievements. What emotions must have surged within her weakened frame, now bent with long toil, as she surveyed these children of her dream. For here were fervent followers of Baha’u’llah raised up from every country of Latin America, of every color, clime and custom. Here was her vision made real; like Saint Peter she cast the seeds, and now witnessed a heavenly harvest. Heartbreaks and anxiety; aches, pains and fevers - how they all took on divine meaning.

On 23 June 1895, in a pleasant two-story house, high on a rise overlooking the Hudson River and the Catskill range beyond, a first child was born to Samuel Norris Holsapple and his beautiful wife, Grace Stirling. They named her Leonora. The Holsapples were well-known in the then little town of Hudson, New York, where they had settled after their marriage. The gifted Mrs. Holsapple served actively in civic work, and had taught school. The childhood of Leonora was, however, soon overshadowed with tragedy and sadness, for her mother's health steadily declined. Just after her precious daughter's fifth birthday she died.

Mrs. Holsapple's untimely death had a profound effect on Leonora and her younger sister, Alethe. They never again had what could truly be called a home. 'How we could endure', Leonora herself recounts, 'through those years of our childhood and adolescence , such loneliness, such suffering, even cruelty, I do not know ... I can remember how when still a small child, often at night before going to bed, I knelt down at my sister's bedside and in agony of soul, implored God with all the intensity of my being to let us feel His Presence, His nearness, His protection. Little did I then dream in what way, and how specifically, that prayer was later to be answered!" [1]

Despite her suffering Leonora was a gifted student all through her childhood. In her high school graduating class she received the highest honors and was made valedictorian. She was able to enter Cornell University on a scholarship, and was elected Phi Beta Kappa in her junior year.