Chico Xavier

For the film, see Chico Xavier (film).

Chico Xavier
Bust of Chico Xavier in his hometown, Pedro Leopoldo
Born
Francisco Cândido Xavier (formerly Francisco de Paula Cândido)

(1910-04-02)April 2, 1910
Pedro Leopoldo, Minas Gerais, Brazil
DiedJune 30, 2002(2002-06-30) (aged 92)
Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Known forPopular medium and philanthropist of Spiritist movement
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Chico Xavier (Portuguese: [ˈʃiku ʃɐviˈɛʁ]) or Francisco Cândido Xavier, born Francisco de Paula Cândido ([fɾɐ̃ˈsisku dʒi ˈpawlɐ ˈkɐ̃dʒidu], April 2, 1910 – June 30, 2002), was a popular Brazilian philanthropist and spiritist medium. During a period of 60 years he wrote over 490 books and several thousand letters claiming to use a process known as "psychography". Books based on old letters and manuscripts were published posthumously, bringing the total number of books to 496.[1][2][3]

The books written by Chico covered a vast range of topics from religion, philosophy, historical romances and novels, Portuguese literature, poetry, and science, as well as thousands of letters intended to inform, console and uplift the families of deceased persons during his psychographic sessions. His books sold an estimated 50 million copies and the revenue generated by it was totally channeled into charity work.[1][4][5][6]

Xavier was born in the city of Pedro Leopoldo, State of Minas Gerais and is popularly known as "Chico Xavier" (Chico is the Portuguese nickname for Francisco). Xavier called his spiritual guide Emmanuel, who according to Xavier, lived in ancient Rome as Senator Publius Lentulus, was reincarnated in Spain as Father Damien, and later as a professor at the Sorbonne.[2][4]

He often mentioned he could not contact a deceased person unless the spirit was willing to be contacted. His appearances on TV talk shows in the late 1960s and early 1970s helped to establish Spiritism as one of the major religions professed in Brazil with more than 5 million followers. Despite his health problems he kept working up to his death, on June 30, 2002, in Uberaba. In 2010, a movie biography entitled Chico Xavier was released in Brazil. Directed by Daniel Filho, the film dramatized Xavier's life.[7]

On October 3, 2012, the SBT television TV show O Maior Brasileiro de Todos os Tempos named Chico Xavier "The Greatest Brazilian of all time", based on a viewer-supported survey.[8]

Xavier has been accused of fraud regarding his claimed abilities, with critics questioning the authenticity of his prolific psychographic output.[9][10]

  1. ^ a b Playfair, Guy Lyon. Chico Xavier, Medium of the Century. Roundtable Publishing, 2010, ISBN 0-9564493-1-X
  2. ^ a b Bello, Alex (11 July 2002). "Obituary: Chico Xavier". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  3. ^ Lucchetti G, Daher JC Jr, Iandoli D Jr, Gonçalves JP, Lucchetti AL. Historical and cultural aspects of the pineal gland: comparison between the theories provided by Spiritism in the 1940s and the current scientific evidence. Archived 2014-04-09 at the Wayback Machine. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2013;34(8):745–55. Indexed in PubMed Archived 1 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine.Indexed in Espirita Archived 15 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine.in Chico Xavier[permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ a b Langellier JP. Un homme insignifiant Archived 16 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Le Monde, 12/05/2010.
  5. ^ Moreira-Almeida, Alexander. Scientific research on mediumship and mind-brain relationship: reviewing the evidence Archived 18 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine (In Portuguese). Rev. psiquiatr. clín. vol.40 no.6 São Paulo 2013.
  6. ^ Martha Mendonça. Chico Xavier e a alma do Brasil Archived 3 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine (In Portuguese). Época Magazine, 01/03/2010.
  7. ^ "Chico Xavier (film)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 8 September 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  8. ^ "Chico Xavier vence e é eleito O Maior Brasileiro de Todos os Tempos" (in Portuguese). SBT. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).