Ironildo Boselli (photo) has been a Spiritist since his youth. He is the author of a book on spirit attachment, Obsessão, Realidades e Desafios (Obsession, Realities and Challenges). He was born in the city of São José do Rio Preto, in the state of São Paulo. He has a degree in law and lives, as a pensioner, in the city of Itapira. Mr Boselli is the current president of the board of curators of the Spiritist Foundation Américo Bairral, which keeps a psychiatric unity in Itapira. He is also one of the directors of the Spiritist Centre Luiz Gonzaga.  O    Consolador:    How    was   the

It was officially founded on December 31^st 1937, but its activities had begun in the previous year. Onofre and Gracinda Batista were the founders. They began by taking on people with mental problems and keeping them in their home. They were true, practicing Spiritists, who felt sorry for the mental patients. At the time they were dealt by the police, locked up in prisons, alongside criminals of all kinds. 

O Consolador: How does the Foundation work today? Does it work as a Spiritist organisation, with mediumship meetings? What are the practical results? 

We have worked on the spiritual side of mental illness, making attempts to talk to the spirits attached to our mental patients. We normally do it in a special location within the Foundation, known as Emmanuel Shelter. What we unfortunately lack are more volunteers. We live in a medium size city, with about seventy thousand people, and a small Spiritist population. As for the results, we must have faith, as we know we haven’t been able so far to give the most effective and customised type of healing. But like in all activities carried out by Spiritist Centres, we know we have the support of the Spiritual World.

O Consolador: What are your criteria for admitting patients? How many beds do you have? 

We are part of the national health system and follow the guidelines of the Health authorities. We also admit private patients, following guidance from their doctors. The hospital has 820 beds, 511 of each are earmarked for patients from the national health system. We lose quite a bit of money with the national health system patients, but make up for that with private patients. We are a non-profit organisation, without owners or shareholders. Whatever amount of money we make is put back into the hospital. 

O Consolador: Do you continue to carry out scientific research at the Foundation? What are the most notable results so far? 

The Foundation takes part in traditional technical research but also in Spiritist research, with the assistance of professors from two prestigious universities: USP, from São Paulo, and the University of Juiz de Fora, from Minas Gerais. The most remarkable results we’ve had so far come from a study carried out in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania, in the United States. They used the technique of neuro-imaging to check what parts of the brain were more active during the work of mediums in trance. The results are due to be published shortly. Other research is also being carried out in the Foundation, some of them leading to the publication of PhD theses on Spiritist themes. 

O Consolador: How do you manage an institution of that size? How many people do you employ, how big are your facilities? 

We are kept by funds from the national health system and by private patients. We have 750 employees, 104 of them with a university degree. We have doctors, psychologists, social workers, dentists, physiotherapists etc. The hospital buildings are in the middle of a 40-hectare green area, with gardens and trees. The national health patients are admitted to the main building. Private patients go to micro-hospitals, with 60 patients in each unit, divided according their diagnosis. 

O Consolador: The Foundation is called Américo Bairral. Who was he? 

He was a tax collector who lived in the city, an enthusiastic Spiritist, very active and dynamic. He was deeply concerned by the problems faced by those of mental illness in Brazil at the time and dreamt of building a specialist hospital. He was linked to the Spiritist Centre Luiz Gonzaga, founded 96 years ago. Américo Bairral was the inspiration to the Spiritist Foundation to look after those with mental illness, but he died before its foundation.  

O Consolador: As the president of the board of curators of the Foundation, what assessment do you make of its benefits to the society? 

As I live in Itapira, I am able to be at the Foundation on a daily basis. That is why I have been given the honour of becoming the president of the board. Thanks to the efforts of so many, the Foundation has improved the quality of its services, becoming a reference among psychiatrists. I would say that the link with Spiritism and the integrity of its directors mean there is a permanent concern over the quality and excellence of the services. Spiritist activities, such as spirit detachment, will only be restricted to those who volunteer. We are not going to impose it on any patient.  Overall, one can’t deny the importance of the Foundation to the city, starting by the 750 families whose relatives work here. I would like to point out also all the research carried out and teaching and learning programmes. 

O Consolador: How difficult is it to treat mental illness? I imagine you have a lot on your plate in an organisation like yours: training employees, security, abiding by the legislation, looking after the patients, as well as providing Spiritist activities to those who want.

It is difficult indeed to work with mental patients, due to the variety and seriousness of illnesses. But treating mental illness is not an impossible task. We employ all the resources available and have a continuous training programme, inviting specialists on a regular basis to organise seminars and courses. We require serious, committed and capable staff, and we aim to employ the best-qualified personnel to each job. With the right people in the right places, it all seems to fall into place.

Interviewer’s note:  

Ironildo Boselli gave us this spontaneous testimonial: 

I became a Spiritist in the beginning of the 1950s, as a result of hot family discussions about religion. I was in Secondary School, having been educated by Augustinian priests, and was a staunch supporter (without much base, I must say) of the principles of the Catholic Church. I was urged to read The Gospel According to Spiritism and point out its flaws. I had to eat humble pie and admit defeat. I became then an active member of the Spiritist Movement, working at several capacities at different Spiritist Centres, engaging eventually in mediumship activities, which I have now carried out uninterrupted for about 46 years.