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By Holly Meyer and David Crary

July 04, 2025

Happy Friday, World of Faith readers.

The Dalai Lama made big news about his successor. Members of the Tohono O’odham Nation carried on their sacred saguaro fruit harvest and a volunteer finds a key abolitionist-era Baptist document.

Attendant monks help Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to leave after presiding over an event celebrating his 90th birthday at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

BUDDHIST LEADER

Tibetans in exile wonder if the next Dalai Lama will be as charismatic as this one

The Dalai Lama has announced that he intends to reincarnate, paving the way for a successor to take on a mantle stretching back 500 years after his death. But as he approaches his 90th birthday, that news hasn’t eased the worries of Tibetan Buddhists who wonder what will happen when this Dalai Lama is gone? For decades, the 14th Dalai Lama has sustained a nation in exile and managed to build a community that’s kept the Tibetan culture and identity alive. Read more.

Why this matters:

The current Dalai Lama has become one of the world’s most recognizable figures while leading a Tibetan diaspora through their struggle for autonomy and opposition of China’s control of Tibet. He has not named a successor, but he says they will be born outside China.
When his death comes, it will pitch the global Tibetan community into uncertainty, perhaps for years. His successor will have to be found through the traditional process of reincarnation. China says it will reject anyone chosen without Beijing's consent.
One advocate for Tibet’s autonomy cautioned that much could change in the coming years. His biggest worry is that the Dalai Lama’s death in exile could trigger a violent response inside Tibet.

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CACTUS FRUIT

Why Tohono O’odham Nation's centuries-old saguaro fruit harvest is experiencing a revival in Arizona

The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its fruit ripens. For the Tohono O'odham Nation, harvest time is a sacred start to the New Year. That's because they consider the towering saguaro cacti as people, as family. The laborious, weekslong harvest process also reinforces crucial connections to the Creator, the natural environment and fellow O’odham across generations. Read more.

Why this matters:

The harvest ritual sacred to the O’odham, who have lived for thousands of years in what are now U.S.-Mexico borderlands, is enjoying a renaissance as many seek to protect their traditional way of life.
The treelike cacti start to produce fruit at 30 years old, then sprout their trademark arms around 75 and live up to 200 years. Most of the fruit is near the top, which can be more than four times the average person’s height.
The fruit is processed into a syrup, some of which ferments into wine for a dayslong ceremony, when O’odham pray together to their Creator to keep sending the monsoon rains. Those make it possible to plant traditional crops like beans, squash and corn.

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BAPTIST HISTORY

A volunteer finds the Holy Grail of abolitionist-era Baptist documents in Massachusetts

While searching the archives of the American Baptists in Massachusetts, a volunteer found a nearly 180-year-old document shedding light on the church's support for ending slavery. The 5-foot-long scroll is a handwritten declaration signed by 116 New England ministers saying they “disapprove and abhor the system of American slavery.” Church officials consider the scroll one of the most important abolitionist-era Baptist documents. Read more.

Why this matters:

Jennifer Cromack was combing through the American Baptist archive when she uncovered a slim box among some 18th and 19th century journals. Opening it, she found the scroll in pristine condition.
The document offers a glimpse into an emerging debate over slavery in the 18th century in the Northeast. The document was signed 14 years before the start of the Civil War as a growing number of religious leaders were starting to speak out against slavery.
American Baptist officials had worried the anti-slavery document had been lost forever after fruitless searches at Harvard and Brown universities and other locations. A copy was last seen in a 1902 history book.

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