Paulo Artur
Nogueira de
Vilhena:
“The Spiritist
Movement is
going through a
very
dynamic period”
Our fellow
Spiritist from
the northern
Brazilian state
of Pará talks
about the
Spiritist
Movement in the
region, which is
enjoying a very
special moment
 |
Paulo Artur Nogueira de
Vilhena (photo),
a Spiritist for 40
years, was born in Belém,
the capital of Para
state, in the Amazon
region, and lives in the
city of Ananindeua. He
is a Physical Education
teacher in a state
school and has a
prominent role in the
regional Spiritist
Movement. He works as a
volunteer at
the Spiritist
Centre A Voz
de João
|
|
Batista
and is
president of
the Seventh
Regional
Council of
Para’s Spiritist
Union. In this
interview, he
talks about
Spiritism and
the state of
Pará: |
Let’s begin with
Ananindeua. Tell
us about the
city where you
live.
Ananindeua is
about 19km
outside Belém,
the state
capital. It is
actually part of
Belém’s
metropolitan
region. It is
the second most
populous city of
Pará state and
the third in the
Amazon region,
with 471,744
inhabitants.
How many
Spiritist
Centres are
there in the
city and which
was the pioneer
Group?
There are 18
Spiritist Groups
in the
municipality and
the oldest is A
Voz de João
Batista, which
opened 20 years
ago. There are
another 25
Spiritist Groups
in Belém.
Tell us about
the Spiritist
Book Fair of
Ananindeua.
It began seven
years ago, with
one single table
with Spiritist
books in a
square of the
city. It was an
initiative from
the Spiritist
Centre A Voz de
João Batista.
The project grew
into a huge
event, which is
now organised by
the 7th
Regional
Spiritist
Council and is
in the core of
our strategy to
disseminate
Spiritist and
promote the
unification of
the Spiritist
Movement in the
state.
And how did the
project of
inviting
Spiritist
speakers from
other parts of
Brazil begin?
Well-known
speakers and
authors are
invited to Para
and shared
amongst the many
Spiritist Groups
in the state. It
began with
invitations to
individuals,
with time
allocated for
them to give
autographs.
Those visits
were so popular
that we decided
to expand the
project. We now
have a bigger
schedule of
special guests
visiting various
areas of our
huge state and
the aim is to
carry on
expanding in
2014, getting
them to go to
four other areas
of Pará.
Pará, in the
Amazon region,
is quite far
from the rest of
Brazil. Is that
the main problem
for you to get
more speakers to
the region?
Absolutely,
distance is
still the major
obstacle, as
many guests do
not have a big
enough gap in
their agenda and
are not able to
attend our Book
Fair. To make
sure we get some
of the guests
here we need to
book them one
year before the
event.
What is your
assessment of
the current
period in the
Spiritist
Movement?
The Spiritist
Movement is
going through a
very dynamic
period, with
events that help
disseminate the
Teachings
happening
everywhere. We
have more and
more books being
published, but
we need to be
careful there,
as many lack the
necessary rigour
and some even
clash with the
content of the
core works of
Allan Kardec.
What is the
defining moment
for you of all
the visits to
the region by
well-known
Spiritist
speakers from
other Brazilian
states?
They have all
given a very
important
contribution to
Spiritism in our
region, but I
would like to
highlight the
visit of Richard
Simonetti, from
Bauru, in São
Paulo state. And
that is for two
main reasons:
his works are
widely read in
Pará and he is
quite old.
Another moving
moment was the
visit of
Severino
Celestino, from
João Pessoa, in
Paraíba state,
as his wife was
seriously ill
when he came to
Pará.
Tell us about
the group of
people who works
in the promotion
of such events.
It is a group of
volunteer
workers from
many Spiritist
Centres. They
are all very
enthusiastic and
happy to serve
Spiritism, each
one contributing
with their
skills and
capabilities in
order to make
sure we succeed
in our events.
The group works
in partnership
with the
Regional
Spiritist
Councils and has
100% backing
from the board
of directors of
the Spiritist
Union of Pará
State.
Anything else to
add?
I would like to
thank God and
all the friends
who have been to
our events –
authors and
speakers –
highlighting the
importance of
their presence
here, always
marked by total
dedication and
humility. I
would like to
thank all the
Spiritist
friends,
incarnate and
discarnate, who
work so hard to
help us succeed
in our events.
And finally, I
would like to
thank my
parents, who are
already in the
Spiritual World,
my brothers and
sisters, my wife
and children, to
whom I owe I
great deal.
