Bezerra de Menezes was a doctor, deputy, abolitionist and, for millions of Brazilians, the man who gave Spiritism the face of charity. He became known as the "doctor of the poor" because he only charged for consultations from those who could pay. Later, he became the "Brazilian Kardec," the main person responsible for uniting the spiritist movement in the country.
Understanding who Bezerra de Menezes was is understanding how Spiritism stopped being an imported novelty from France and began to be part of the religiosity of Brazil. In this guide, you follow the complete trajectory: childhood in the backlands of Ceará, medicine practiced as a mission, the fight for abolition, the conversion to the doctrine at 55 years old and the work that even today brings science and faith closer.
From the backlands of Ceará to medicine in Rio
Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes Cavalcanti was born on August 29, 1831, in Riacho do Sangue, now the municipality of Jaguaretama, in Ceará. He grew up in the backlands and, while still young, left for Rio de Janeiro chasing the dream of being a doctor. He graduated from the Rio de Janeiro Faculty of Medicine in 1856, with a thesis on the diagnosis of cancer.
In the first years of his career, he served as a military surgeon. Later, he began to treat the population of the Empire's capital, where he would gain the fame that accompanies him to this day. Bezerra treated rich people and poor people, but it was among the humblest that he left the deepest mark.
Full name: Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes Cavalcanti | Birth: August 29, 1831, Riacho do Sangue (Jaguaretama-CE) | Death: April 11, 1900, Rio de Janeiro | Education: Medicine, 1856 | Nicknames: doctor of the poor, Brazilian Kardec
The doctor of the poor
The nickname was not marketing, it was daily practice. Bezerra treated for free those who had no money and reserved the charges for wealthy patients. Many times, in addition to the prescription, he left the money itself for the family to buy the medicine.
The most remembered story says that he donated the medical graduation ring to a distressed mother, so she could sell the jewelry and buy the medicines for her sick son. Whether true or polished by popular memory, the episode summarizes the character: medicine as a service, not as a business.
For Bezerra, curing the body without caring for the dignity of the person was a job half done. This idea of practical charity would be, years later, the center of his Spiritist life.
This way of practicing the profession explains why, even before becoming a Spiritist, he was already admired in the city. Charity came before the doctrine, and not the other way around.
The abolitionist deputy
Bezerra de Menezes was also a public man. He served as a councilman of Rio de Janeiro in terms between 1861 and 1885, was a provincial deputy and even became a general deputy of the Empire, between 1877 and 1885. In the tribune, he defended social causes that were ahead of his time.
The most important was the abolition of slavery. Already in 1869, he published an essay proposing measures to extinguish slavery without breaking the country's economy, highlighting the education of the freed people. He also defended protection for domestic work and the cleaning of the capital's rivers.
Politics and medicine, in his case, followed the same compass: caring for those who had less of a voice. When Spiritism entered his life, it found a man who already lived what the doctrine preaches.
The encounter with Spiritism
Bezerra's contact with the new doctrine occurred around 1875, when he read The Spirits' Book, the work that Allan Kardec had published in France in 1857. The reading moved the doctor, but he did not convert immediately. He studied, compared, and resisted for years, faithful to the scientific rigor of his training.
The public adherence came only on August 16, 1886, at age 55, in a famous speech where he declared his Spiritist faith before a large audience. From then on, he dedicated the rest of his life to the cause. If you want to know the basis of this doctrine, start with our guide on what is Spiritism and by the history of who was Allan Kardec.
Between 1887 and 1893, Bezerra wrote Spiritist outreach articles in the newspaper O Paiz, one of the largest at the time. He signed with the pseudonym Max, so that the debate would revolve around the ideas, and not the famous name of the author.
The "Brazilian Kardec" at the head of the FEB
At the end of the 19th century, Brazilian Spiritism was experiencing a division. On one side, the "scientists," who wanted to study the phenomena as research. On the other, the "mystics," turned toward religious practice and spiritual charity. The fight threatened to split the movement even before it could take root.
It was in this scenario that Bezerra de Menezes assumed the presidency of the Brazilian Spiritist Federation (FEB), in 1889 and then after 1895 until his death in 1900. Under his leadership, the systematic study of The Spirits' Book became a common base, and the rival currents found a point of union.
This role as a peacemaker and articulator earned him the nickname of "Brazilian Kardec". Just as Kardec organized the doctrine in France, Bezerra organized and rooted it in Brazil, the country that would become the largest Spiritist hub in the world. Much of what Chico Xavier would do decades later was supported by this foundation. It is also worth knowing the trajectory of who Chico Xavier was.
Madness under a New Prism: faith and psychiatry
Bezerra's most debated work unites his two vocations, medicine and Spiritism. In the book Madness under a New Prism, he maintains that madness "cannot be considered under a single prism." Some disorders would have an organic cause, with brain damage. Others, according to him, would come from moral factors and the action of spirits, what Spiritists call obsession.
The proposal was bold for the time and remains controversial. Bezerra did not preach abandoning the clinical diagnosis. He advocated for adding, to medical treatment, a moral and spiritual care of the patient. This is the ground of disobsession in Spiritist practice.
It is worth an honest record: mediumship and spiritual obsession are matters of faith, not scientific consensus. No spiritual treatment replaces medical or psychiatric monitoring. The Spiritist doctrine, when well understood, guides one to seek both things.
The book was released under the pseudonym Max and became a reference within the Spiritist circle. Outside of it, it still feeds the historical study of the boundaries between religion, psychiatry, and medicine in Brazil.
The legacy of Bezerra de Menezes
Bezerra de Menezes died on April 11, 1900, in Rio de Janeiro, at 68 years old. He died poor, consistent with the life he led, and left a crowd of admirers. His name is given to Spiritist centers, streets, and hospitals throughout the country.
The legacy has three layers. The first is charity as a method: to attend, welcome, and serve without charging the needy. The second is the unification of Spiritism, without which the doctrine might not have gained the strength it has in Brazil. The third is the bridge between science and faith, a theme that he embodied like few others.
For the Spiritist tradition, Bezerra continued working after disincarnating, and many psychographed messages are attributed to him. This, once again, is a matter of faith. What history documents, without depending on belief, is the magnitude of his presence in the country's public life. On August 29, the date of his birth, Spiritist houses throughout Brazil still remember him as the doctor who made charity a doctrine.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Bezerra de Menezes called the doctor of the poor?
Because he treated for free those who had no means to pay and charged only from wealthy patients. It is told that he even donated his own graduation ring so a mother could buy medicine for her son. For him, medicine was a service to the person, and not a means to get rich.
What is the relationship of Bezerra de Menezes with Spiritism?
He read The Spirits Book around 1875 and publicly joined the doctrine in 1886, at age 55. He was president of the Brazilian Spiritist Federation and promoted Spiritism in newspapers under the pseudonym Max, becoming the greatest Spiritist leadership in the country at the end of the 19th century.
Why is he called the Brazilian Kardec?
Because he did for Spiritism in Brazil what Allan Kardec did in France: he organized, unified, and rooted the doctrine. At the head of the FEB, he united the "scientific" and "mystical" currents around common study, giving the movement the base that allowed its growth.
What is the book Madness under a New Prism?
It is a work by Bezerra de Menezes that studies madness from a Spiritism perspective. He argues that some disorders have an organic cause and others a connection with spiritual obsession, always added to the clinical diagnosis. It is a matter of faith, and it does not replace medical or psychiatric treatment.
When was Bezerra de Menezes born and when did he die?
He was born on August 29, 1831, in Ceará, and died on April 11, 1900, in Rio de Janeiro, at the age of 68. He became a doctor in 1856 and dedicated the second half of his life to abolitionist politics and the consolidation of Spiritism in Brazil.
Where to find items for your spiritual journey
If the history of Bezerra de Menezes awakened in you the desire to care for your own spirituality, at Joia Mística Laroyê you will find:
- White candles: for moments of prayer, study, and meditation
- Soft incense and fumigants: lavender and rosemary to harmonize the environment for reading and prayer
- Statues and devotional items: from various traditions, with respectful curation
- 7-day votive candles: to accompany cycles of prayer and gratitude
Also check out our selection of ritual candles and their meanings. Visit our shop in Extrema, Minas Gerais or talk to us via WhatsApp and we will ship nationwide.
Sources: Bezerra de Menezes (Wikipedia) and A Loucura sob Novo Prisma (Wikipedia).
References
- Wikipedia: biography of Bezerra de Menezes
- Wikipedia: entry on the book A Loucura sob Novo Prisma
