Fernando Américo Palermo Falleiros (photo) is a business administrator and a farming entrepreneur in the Brazilian city of Franca, in the state of São Paulo. He is also a member of the Monsenhor Cândido Rosa Spiritist Centre and president of IDEFRAN, the Franca Institute of Spiritist Dissemination. We spoke to him about the First Spiritist Congress of Franca, which will take place on November 25th with the theme “Morality and Knowledge, the Wings of Evolution”:

Franca is well known for the strength of its Spiritist Movement. It has hosted many events. How did you come up with the idea of hosting a Spiritist Congress in the city?

Franca is indeed a city with an important Spiritist history and IDEFRAN is the main body that unifies the local Spiritist Movement and helps disseminate information in the region. The idea of organising a congress was first mentioned to me by one of our collaborators at IDEFRAN Radio. After discussing it with the board of directors, we decided to embrace the idea. We took into account the fact that the public has already changed their stance towards public gatherings after the end of the coronavirus pandemic. Similar events have been very successful across the country. 

Could you give us more details about the event? 

It’s being organised by IDEFRAN, with the support of the Union of Spiritist Societies of Franca. The event will take place on November 25th, 2023, from 08h30am to 09h15pm at CECAP, Escolas Pestalozzi, in Rua Afonso Pena. We will have talks and sessions of questions and answers, with art performances and music intercalated in the programme. We will also have food and book stalls to help us cover the costs of the congress. 

Tell us about the main guests.

The public speakers will be Alexandre Caldini, Cosme Massi, Dr Irvênia Prada and Maira Rocha. The artists performing will be César Tucci, Sol Maior Choir, Eduardo Gibelli, Moacir Camargo and Saulo França Amui. It’s important to highlight that Maira Rocha will talk about her experiences as a medium, but we won’t have a mediumship session during the event. 

How much is the registration fee?

It’s 60 Brazilian reais (US$ 12). Those who are interested can buy the ticket on the QUERO 2 INGRESSOS website by clicking here. All participants will get as a gift a book marking the 100th anniversary of Franca’s Allan Kardec Spiritist Foundation. There will be different food options for everyone and there are also many restaurants in the area. There are also several hotels near the place where we will be hosting the event. We won’t be able to offer childcare services, as this is our first year, but that’s something we’re certainly looking into for future editions of the congress.

What are the expectations of the group organising the congress? 

We hope that this is the first of many such events to discuss Spiritism. We hope it has the same success of the Spiritist Book Fair, which we have been hosting in Franca for 73 consecutive years. Our aim is to announce, at the end of this congress, the names of the main guests for next year, when our infrastructure will already be consolidated. 

Is there anything else you would like to add?