To exemplify what we said in the previous article ⁽¹⁾, about the explanations that are shown to justify the messages and books attributed to Spirits and that the skeptical fall back on animistic hypotheses, the unconscious mind, subconscious mind, telepathy etc., we bring an amazing testimony involving a known public man, in which he testified in 1991, in the city of Farroupilha (RS). The fact is registered in video, now on a DVD.

We are talking about one of the most renowned journalists in Rio Grande do Sul of all times, who was columnist of the newspaper Zero Hora, the former congressman Dr. Jorge Alberto Mendes Ribeiro (2). Before a packed auditorium, in a gymnasium where three thousand people turned out, for the presentation of that evening’s speaker, who was the medium Divaldo Franco, Dr. Mendes Ribeiro made a spontaneous and amazing testimony about Divaldo Franco’s mediumship, which needs to be registered in the historical records of mediumship and psychography.

Mendes Ribeiro said that when he was in Salvador on business (he lived in Porto Alegre-RS), along with his wife Marlene, visiting the Spiritist Center Caminho da Redenção (settled by Divaldo in 1947) and to the Mansão do Caminho (social-educational work by Divaldo, settled by him in 1952), Mendes Ribeiro asked Divaldo permission to know and participate of a mediumistic meeting held there, in   those where needy Spirits are indoctrinated. He followed carefully the whole mediumistic meeting (such mediumistic meetings have been held by Divaldo twice a week, since 1947, meetings that occur with or without Divaldo’s presence, since he has his agenda full of trips, lectures and interviews).

What Mendes Ribeiro couldn’t expect was to receive a message in this mediumistic meeting, psychographed by Divaldo, addressed to him, Mendes Ribeiro!  

In the message the Spirit informed his name, the date of his death and where his body had been buried 

The message which was unexpectedly addressed let him astonished, since it was signed by a Spirit that neither he nor his wife, nor Divaldo and anyone else in the mediumistic meeting had ever heard of.

If it were that, the fact would be curious enough to call attention and demand researches and reflections. But the curious thing is that in the message the Spirit not only gave away his name, but also his date of birth and death in his last incarnation (he had disincarnated sixty years before). Besides, he informed the cemetery he had been buried in Porto Alegre (RS), the number of the tomb, the number of a lawsuit related to his death, which had been under scrutiny the past twenty years (possibly referring to his will).

As if it were not enough, which is extraordinary already, the Spirit gave the description, the names and many details related specifically to his relatives!

We ask, how can a fact like that be explained? How was it possible for the medium to transmit such information, so private, when not even if there were people from his own family, it would be possible to remember all of it, sixty years ago? To know such information, and if it were intended to support hypotheses of the unconscious mind, telepathy etc., it was needed to be present at the same time the lawyer who takes care of the will, the widow, the children, the siblings, friends, with a great memory!!

Recalling the content of our last article, approaching the animistic justifications (unconscious mind and subconscious mind) which in general are presented to explain such facts, in this case is just impossible to fall back on such explanation because no one who was present in the mediumistic meeting had ever heard about this person.  

The fact revealed by the Spirit and proved through research contributed to give a Spiritist conviction to the great journalist

Let’s transcribe excerpts of the testimony Mendes Ribeiro himself wrote, which express better the event:

“I tell you, as a reporter and journalist that I am, an experience that I had at Mansão do Caminho. I remember having the opportunity to see psychographed by Divaldo P. Franco a message addressed to me. The message was signed by Coronel Francisco Dornelles, someone I had never heard of. Francisco Lopes de Almeida was his full name, and in the message he mentioned the number of the tomb where his body was buried and the name of the cemetery, Cemetery da Santa Casa de Misericórdia in Porto Alegre. Reporter (I insist on introducing myself like this today), on the following day I called Porto Alegre and asked a colleague to go to the Cemetery and verify if the number really existed. I received the answer, that the tomb was not at Cemetery da Santa Casa but at São Miguel and, before I could say anything, my partner Sergio Lima, told me: Mendes Ribeiro, there’s a catch though, this tomb in fact belonged to Cemetery Santa Casa but the brotherhood São Miguel bought the piece of land where the tomb was found. Today, it belongs to Cemetery São Miguel, but at the time of his death, as it was said in the message, it used to belong to Cemetery Santa Casa. The coincidences didn’t finish there. It was thoroughly described who was who, who the relatives were and, above all, a number which was exactly the lawsuit that should be inspected to solve this that had been dragged on the past twenty years. This is my testimony, about the word and truth of this tireless preacher of the Good, that I have the supreme honor to introduce tonight, as if it were needed: Divaldo Pereira Franco.”

We are bringing only one example typical of cases in where is impossible to fall back on psychological or psychoanalyst hypotheses to explain such fact. Just like this case, there are hundreds more, n the mediumistic and psychographic history involving the medium Divaldo Franco, as well as other mediums.

This kind of fact deserves to be mentioned because it contributed a lot to give a Spiritist conviction to this great journalist and all those as a proof of mediumship. Likewise it was interesting and still is for anyone who wants to better understand and study paranormal phenomena. It also makes one reflects about the spiritual ties that exist among the Spirits, which many times are not possible to the earthly grasp. 

Notes: 

⁽¹⁾  The first article of this series about Divaldo Franco's psychographic mediumship was published on issue 69, from 17/8/2008, of this magazine.

⁽²⁾ Jorge Alberto Beck Mendes Ribeiro, born on 14/7/1929, was a lawyer, teacher and journalist . he also exercised the tenure of city councilman in Porto Alegre, in 1963 and 1964; state deputy in 1962 e 1963 and congressman in two tenures, in 1987-1991 and 1991-1995. In journalism he started his career at Rádio Gaúcha, in1951. His style was soon getting space and taking him to advance in the profession. His sporting commentaries were remarkable, in a moment in which Rádio Guaíba, founded by him, Ribeiro, after he left Gaúcha, was one of the pioneers of World Cup coverage, having as an example the broadcast of the first trophy, in 1958, in Sweden. After his return to Gaúcha in 1963, Mendes Ribeiro was the first host of the program Atualidade, live from Brasília, when he was a congressman. While he presented the show, he also took part of Jornal do Almoço and wrote chronicles in the newspaper Zero Hora. Mendes Ribeiro died in July 1999, days after turning 70 years old.