Page "Phoebe Hearst" Paragraph 6

Hearst was raised a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian faith in the 1840s.

In 1898 she converted to the Bahá ' í Faith, and helped play a key role in the spread of the religion in the United States.

In November 1898 Hearst, with Lua Getsinger and others, stopped off at Paris briefly on their way to Palestine and was shocked to see May Bolles ( later Maxwell ) bedridden with the chronic malady which had afflicted her.

Hearst invited Bolles to sojourn to the East with her, believing the change of air to be conducive to her health.

Getsinger also disclosed to Bolles the purpose of the journey: a pilgrimage to visit the then head of the Bahá ’ í Faith: ` Abdu ' l-Bahá.

The group of them then travelled to Akka and Haifa in Palestine ( modern day Israel ) on pilgrimage, arriving on December 14, 1889.

She later wrote, " Those three days were the most memorable days of my life.