Maria José
Maritan
Cavalcante de
Albuquerque:
“Our main
challenges these
days are our
financial
constraints”
Our fellow
Spiritist from
the Brazilian
city of Três
Corações, in
Minas Gerais
state, talks
about the
charity work
carried out in
the area
by the Capitão
Vendramini
Spiritist Centre
 |
Maria José
Maritan
Cavalcante de
Albuquerque (photo),
our interviewee
this week, is
the president of
the Spiritist
Centre Capitão
Vendramini, in
the Brazilian
city of Três
Corações –
famous as the
hometown of Pelé,
considered in
Brazil as the
king of
football. The
organisation
offers a number
of important
social-oriented
activities in
the city,
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pioneered by a
man whose name
is known to
everyone in Três
Corações,
Captain
Vendramini.
Maria José, who
has been a
Spiritist since
1972, was born
and brought up
in the city and
knows well the
history of the
Spiritist Centre
and its founder.
That is what she
talks about in
this interview: |
First of all,
who was Captain
Vendramini?
Morbello
Vendramini was
born on October
21st
1913 in São
Paulo state. He
got married in
1941, five years
after joining
the military,
and had eight
children. He
took part in the
Brazilian forces
that were sent
to Italy to
fight on the
side of the
Allies in the
Second World
War. He came to
live in Três
Corações in
1956. He had
been a Catholic
until 1947, when
he began reading
the first
Spiritist books.
From 1958
onwards, he set
up a number of
charities in the
city, giving
food and shelter
to the poor. He
was the head of
two of the
organisations he
founded,
including the
Spiritist
Centre, then
named Noah’s
Arch, until he
passed away.
How did he win
the hearts of
the people in
Três Corações?
It was thanks to
his humbleness,
kindness and
concern for the
underprivileged
in society. He
had a kind word
or constructive
advice to anyone
who came to him.
He put his heart
on helping
everyone. He
began his
charity work at
home, giving
soup to the poor
and doing the
Gospel in the
Home. He founded
the local branch
of the Military
Spiritists
organisation and
in 1979 joined
other brothers
and sisters to
found the
Spiritist
Centre.
Is there any
particular event
in the city’s
history in which
the Captain
played an
important role?
The city was
completely
flooded in 2000.
Water levels
reached the roof
of the Spiritist
Centre. Many
people were left
stranded in some
parts of the
city. He led the
rescue and aid
effort with
great enthusiasm
and played a key
role in getting
the city back on
its feet. It was
like the Noah’s
Arch. He had
named the
charity after
the biblical
arch after a
dream… The
charity
organisations he
helped found are
now engaged in a
number of
social-oriented
projects,
including help
to pregnant
women and babies
in their first
year of life,
group therapy
for adults and
projects to get
people back in
the work
market.
What are the
main challenges
faced by the
Spiritist Centre
Capitão
Vendramini these
days?
Our main
challenges these
days are our
financial
constraints,
which hamper our
efforts to open
up new projects
and
opportunities.
We have a
charity shop and
run catering
workshops and
use the money
raised from
those activities
to pay part of
our costs.
Is there
anything else
you would like
to add?
The Spiritist
Centre carries
out its social
projects. That
means we put
into practice
all the theory
we learn in the
Spiritist books.
But we also run
courses on the
core works of
Allan Kardec, we
run mediumship
groups,
Spiritism for
children courses
and counselling.
Finally, thank
you very much
for this
opportunity to
share with your
readers a bit of
the history and
the work of the
Spiritist
organisations of
Três Corações.
