In 1961 Costa Rican Baháʼís elected their own National Spiritual Assembly with its seat in Uruca. The convention was attended by Hand of the Cause Dhikru'llah Khadem. The elected assembly was composed of Esteban Canales, Richard Milkovich, Humberto Ulloa F., Theodore Cortazzi, Antonio Soto G., Jose Barquero, Edgard Gomez, Aaron Barnes, John Rutan. A number of pioneers came and went over the period into the 1960s and assembly statuses fluctuated - two assemblies were noted in 1963 in Escazu and San José.The Baháʼí Faith: 1844-1963: Information Statistical and Comparative, Including the Achievements of the Ten Year International Baháʼí Teaching & Consolidation Plan 1953-1963, Compiled by Hands of the Cause Residing in the Holy Land, page 48. In 1963 the members of the National Assembly, and thus participated in the first election of the Universal House of Justice, were Jose Baltodano, Aaron J. Bames, Esteban Canales, Theodore Cortazzi, Jean Dobbs, Richard Mirkovich, John Rutan, Antonio Soto, and Fernando Soto.
