First Belgium Baha’i

The visit of Madame Lea Nys (1910-1992) to our home in Les Cayes. This “valiant handmaiden of Baha’u’llah” was born Lea Maria Decelle on December 27,1910, in Brussels, Belgium. Lea was attracted to the spirit of sacrifice of pioneers, their simplicity, their availability, their hospitality, in spite of the little means they had. Their ideal was hers. We were very happy to meet her.

She was “the first to accept the Message of Baha’u’llah on the soil of Belgium.” Baha’i literature in French was lacking. Lea dedicated much of her energy to the translation of the Sacred Texts, such as prayers, into French.  She visited more than sixty francophone islands scattered across the globe. Everywhere that she went, she would radiate a natural ease in meeting with the poorest and the richest and in proclaiming the Faith through the media. She would leave behind many people who would declare their Faith in Baha’u’Ilah. Nothing would stop her, neither fear, nor precarious situations in remote villages. She was happy with simple comforts and would share life with the most humble of people, and she was equally at home in more sophisticated environments.