I owe it to my mother, who became a Spiritist when I was only 9 years old, months after my grandfather passed away. At the time, my father and her went through serious disturbances of a spiritual and mediunimic nature and some neighbours helped them, directing them towards the Spiritist Centre Ana Vieira in São Paulo. I was fascinated by the stories my mother told me about the Spirit World, but as my father didn’t approve of Spiritism, I waited until I was an adult in order to join a Spiritis Centre. I was then 20 years old and was already at university. I was moved initially by curiosity but the key point for my staying was the kindness and love of the people who worked there as volunteers. 

Did you have any problems of your family because of your decision to join Spiritism? 

No, because my mother attended the same Spiritist Centre as me. My father, who used to be very sceptical about any religion, used to tease me with jokes and malicious comments. But he changed and began respecting Spiritism after I led a ceremony at the wedding of a friend of mine based on The Gospel According to Spiritism. He was very touched by it. 

What are your activities in the Spiritist Movement at the moment? 

My wife and are members of the Camille Flammarion Spiritist Centre (NEECAFLA), which welcomed us and is our spiritual home in Belgium. We are a group of 15 dedicated workers. Most of the people who attend our meeting are Portuguese speakers, but we also have activities in French, one of the three official languages of Belgium. I am a member of the board of directors and look after the accounts. I also give talks in Portuguese and French and give courses on mediumship.  

What are the main challenges faced by the Spiritist Movement in Belgium? 

Even though Spiritism was codified in France and Kardec mentioned his trips to the Spiritist Group of Liège  (, which is still active and is where the headquarters of the Belgim Spiritist Union is) in 1862, unfortunately there are still a very low number of adepts. Many still associate mediums with crooks and charlatans. Others see Spiritism as a sect. Belgium is a predominantly Roman Catholic nation, with one of the highest numbers of churches per sq km in Europe. But many people in Belgium have turned their backs to religion, believing that the idea of God is only for the poor and the ignorant. Also, because of its geographic position, Belgium has seen many wars in the past few centuries, which has created a very troubled spiritual atmosphere over here. Millions of people have lost their lives in the area in the First and the Second World Wars. If you add this to the lack of natural light and cold weather of the region, you have a country with one of the highest suicide rates in Europe.  

The world was shocked by the terrorist attacks in Belgium in March. Is that an issue that has had an impact on Spiritist activities in the country? 

Yes, there is a clear impact on our activities. Since the attacks on the weekly French publication, “Charlie Hebdo,” our spiritual mentors have asked us to pray for much light for Belgium, stressing that the spiritual atmosphere in Europe is very delicate at the moment. They told us that we were all getting a lot of protection and that we should carry on with our good deeds, avoiding the pessimism and negativism around us. The number of spirits being rescued is growing and we have been often reminded in the two mediumships groups we have in our Spiritist Centre that “God is in charge”. Those who have a clearer mediumship have been feeling the physical impact of the heavy spiritual atmosphere, with gastric problems, tiredness and general pains. In our public talks, people often ask why all this is happening and we explain that the planet is going through a phase of transition (from a world of Trials and Tribulations into a world of Regeneration). On the day of the attacks I was in the United States. But even from afar I could feel the anguish of those who were here. In times like that, our knowledge of Spiritism is put to a test. 

Another difficult issue now in Europe is the arrival of thousands of refugees seeking a safe haven and escaping terror. Do you think the Belgian people is ready to do the charity and welcome those people as brothers and sisters? 

It is a very delicate issue indeed. There are several aspects to be considered: economic, humanitarian, social and the fear of welcoming terrorists amongst the refugees. There is a true desire by the Belgian people to hep, but there are many issues that make it difficult. The social services can be overstretched and the immigrants will need to be integrated. There will be a cost in housing them, teach them the languages of the country and finding school for their children. This is a real dilemma for European authorities and we are far away from a solution.

Author’s note: 

To find out more about Spiritism in Belgium, you can check the following websites:

Belgian Spiritist Union: http://www.spirite.be

NEECAFLA: http://www.neecafla.be

Francofone Spiritist Movement: http://www.lmsf.org

Francofone Medicine and Spirituality Congress: http://congres.lmsf.org