Antônio Villela: 

“May the future generations not lose sight of the main aim of Spiritist Centres” 

The founder of the Spiritist Centre André Luiz talks to us about his personal history and the epic task of founding a Spiritist Centre in Brasília at the time of the new capital’s foundation

	Antônio Villela (photo) was born in the seaside Brazilian town of Mangaratiba, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. He has lived in Brasília since 1960, when the new capital was founded. He became a Spiritist in 1945 and in 1949 founded the Spiritist Centre Apóstolo Estevão in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, as well as the school Paul of Tarsus, which provi-
ded free education to pupils from year 1 to year 4. He was transferred to Brasília in June 1960, less than two months after the new capital’s foundation. He was one of the founders in Brasília of the local Spiritist Federation. Antônio Villela is now retired and dedicates most of his time to work in the Spiritist Movement.

When and in which circumstances was the Spiritist Centre André Luiz founded? 

It began in July 1960, in the Candangolândia area of the Federal District. It was a very interesting story. I was in a group of some 50 people gathered when a friend suggested the creation of an Umbanda Centre – an Afro-Brazilian affiliation. They voted and elected me president. I refused immediately to accept the post, because I was already a Spiritist, following the Codification of Allan Kardec. After some debate, the vast majority of them accepted my arguments. We decided then to create a Spiritist Centre. We asked the Spiritual Benefactors to guide us in the choice of a name. We prayed and picked a piece of paper from a box, where more than 30 proposed names had been put in. The name André Luiz [-- the Spirit who wrote through the medium, Chico Xavier, Nosso Lar (Our Homes) and many other books --] came up. That is how we created the Spiritist Centre André Luiz, known as CEAL (-- its Portuguese acronym). And the name that came up for our charity work was Francis of Assisi Social Services. In September 1970 we moved from the wooden house where we used to meet to new installations at a plot of land that we bought in the Guará district of Brasília.  

Tell us more about the pioneers of Spiritism in Brasília. 

Among those who played a key role is Pedro Letieri, who joined CEAL in 1961, and shortly after Sebastião Pereira Lopes, Romualdo Manoel Porto and many others, who worked especially hard. 

What are the main aims of CEAL? 

It is to help disseminate, live and put into practice the core principles of Spiritism as codified by Allan Kardec. 

What are the main changes that CEAL has gone through along the years? 

In the beginning it was not easy to disseminate Spiritism in Brasília. A small number of Spiritists and others who joined the Spiritist Movement played a key role in the expansion of activities in the new capital. It was all very, very basic and simple, but we did everything with lots of love. We now have more than 500 people who attend our events and meetings daily. We help people from many regions and religions who come to Brasília. 

What is your assessment of Spiritist books in Brazil at the moment? 

I think the dissemination of the Teachings is doing very well, but that has posed a few problems. There are many published authors in Spiritism who are in fact putting forward ideas and thoughts that clash with the Codification of Kardec. 

What are the main challenges to overcome? 

We must remain faithful to the aims for which our Spiritist Centre was created by the Spiritual Benefactors.  

What is the importance of Spiritist Centres? 

They must bring back the essence of Christianity, which began at the home where the Apostles gave healing and assistance to those in need.  

What are CEAL’s plans for the future? 

May the future generations not lose sight of the main aim of Spiritist Centres, bearing in mind the core principles of Spiritism. We are all working together for the same cause and it is up to the young generations to go ahead on Christ’s journey. 

Would you like to leave a final message to our readers? 

You must follow what the Gospel According to Spiritism teaches and Spiritism in its essence. Do not go for a diluted version of Spiritism, mixed with other principles just to please those who come up with weird ideas. The Spiritist principles we should follow are those of love, pure and simple, blessed with forgiveness and wisdom.