Chico Xavier

Chico Xavier or Francisco Cândido Xavier, born Francisco de Paula Cândido (, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Childhood
Francisco was born to João Cândido Xavier, a lottery ticket vendor, and Maria João de Deus, a Catholic housewife. His mediumistic abilities, as recounted by biographers, manifested early, becoming apparent when he was just four years old. During a conversation his father had about pregnancy, Francisco began to articulate detailed scientific facts, claiming he could hear and see spirits. Tragically, he lost his mother at the age of five but maintained that he communicated with her spirit for several years afterward. This claim led many to regard him as mentally unstable for a significant part of his life.

His father remarried Cidália Batista, and she insisted that he bring together all nine of his children. At this time, Francisco was seven years old. The newly formed family expanded further, with the couple having six more children. Francisco was enrolled in public school, but it was during this period that he reported the cessation of communication with his mother's spirit. To contribute to his family's income, he started working at a very young age, selling vegetables they grew at home.

Francisco's alleged paranormal abilities frequently caused him difficulties at school and in church. In his fourth year of primary school, he claimed that a man dictated all his school essays, but this assertion went largely ignored, even by his teacher. He achieved a notable success with a school composition on the centenary of Brazil's independence, earning an honorable mention in a state contest. However, in 1922, he faced skepticism and accusations of plagiarism from colleagues and friends – allegations that would persist throughout his life. When challenged to demonstrate his abilities, Francisco impressively rose to the occasion. He was asked to improvise an essay on the spur of the moment about a grain of sand, with the assistance of a spirit. Despite the lack of preparation and the immediate nature of the challenge, he succeeded.

Cidália, Francisco's stepmother, approached him with an unusual request. She asked him to consult the spirit of his late mother regarding a pressing issue: the persistent theft of vegetables from her garden by a neighbor. Remarkably, the spirit's advice was to assign the responsibility of overseeing the kitchen garden to the neighbor herself. Implementing this strategy, they witnessed the mysterious disappearances of the vegetables come to an end.

However, this incident had an unforeseen consequence. Alarmed by the demonstration of Francisco's mediumistic abilities, his father made the drastic decision to have him hospitalized. This decision was fueled by a mix of fear and misunderstanding of Francisco's unique gift.

Father Scarzelli, a Catholic priest, took it upon himself to evaluate the young Francisco's situation. After careful consideration, he determined that hospitalization was an unnecessary measure, attributing the boy's experiences to mere "children's fantasy." Scarzelli's solution was straightforward: limit Francisco's access to certain books, which he believed were the root of these fantasies, and engage the boy in manual labor. Consequently, Francisco found himself employed in a textile factory, where he was subjected to a stringent routine and long working hours. This period of his life, marked by harsh discipline, had lasting effects that would follow him for years to come.

By 1924, Francisco completed his primary education but did not pursue further schooling. He embarked on a career as a sales clerk, enduring long, demanding hours. Despite his deep Catholic faith and numerous penances, not to mention the restrictions imposed by his confessor, Francisco continued to experience visions and communicate with spirits. These spiritual encounters persisted, undeterred by his devout religious practices and the constraints placed upon him.

Contact with Spiritism
In May 1927 his sister, Maria Xavier, was having mental disturbances, which many believed was caused by spiritual sources known as obsession (Spiritism). This episode allowed Francisco to support his sister with his mediumship capacities and introduced him to the Spiritism Doctrine as well. Simultaneously he allegedly received a new message from his mother in which she recommended him to accomplish all his duties and thoroughly study the books of Allan Kardec; In June; Francisco founded the Spiritist Center Luiz Gonzaga, in a wooden warehouse owned by his brother. In July, under the guidance of a so-called "benevolent spirit", he started to psychograph, writing seventeen pages.

Later, Xavier would claim that several deceased Poets had begun to manifest themselves through him, but they only started to identify themselves in 1931. In 1928, he published his first psychographic messages in the newspapers "O Jornal", from Rio de Janeiro, and Almanaque de Notícias, from Portugal.

First works
He became widely known in Brazil in 1931, when he published the book Parnassus Beyond the Tomb (pt:Parnaso de Além-Túmulo), which had 259 poems allegedly composed by 56 deceased Brazilian and Portuguese illustrious Poets.That year was marked by the medium's "adulthood" and when he firstly met his spiritual Mentor Emmanuel, "Under a tree, near a water reservoir..." (SOUTO MAIOR, 1995:31). According to Chico his Mentor informed about his mission to psychograph a sequence of thirty books and to achieve such a task he would require 3 mandatory conditions: "discipline, discipline and discipline". Emmanuel instructed him to be loyal to Jesus and Kardec, even if it was against his religious basis. Later on, the Medium found out that Emmanuel had been the Roman senator Publius Lentulus, further reborn as a slave who sympathized with Christianity, still in another reincarnation, had been a Jesuit priest Manuel da Nóbrega, involved with the gospel teachings during the colonial period of Brazil in the 18th century.

In 1932, the book Parnaso de Além-Túmulo, was then published by; Federação Espírita Brasileira (FEB). (Brazilian Spiritualist Federation) The compilation of poetry dictated by spirits of Brazilian and Portuguese poets achieved enormous impact in the Brazilian press and public opinion, and yet caused strong polemic among the ones involved with Brazilian literature, whose opinions were divided between recognition and accusations of pastiche. The impact increased even more when it was revealed that the books had been written by a "humble clerk" from a warehouse in the countryside of Minas Gerais (Brazilian state where the medium was born), who had barely finished primary school. It is said that the spirit of his mother advised him not to respond to the criticism.

The copyrights of all his books were kindly granted to FEB. At that period, he started a relationship with Manuel Quintão and Wantuil de Freitas. Still at the same period, an ocular cataract was found, problem which he had to live with for the rest of his life. The spirits and his mentors, Emmanuel and Bezerra de Menezes, instructed him to be treated with the resources of human medicine and told him not to count on any kind of privileges from the spirits.

He kept working as a clerk–typist at the model farm from the Regional Inspectorate of the Department of Livestock Development, He started to perform at Centro Espírita Luís Gonzaga in 1935, helping the ones in need with prescriptions, advice and producing psychographic books. The farm manager and agronomist Rômulo Joviano, also spiritist who attended all the seances at Centro Luiz Gonzaga, where he later became the president., besides giving Francisco a job, he also cooperated with the medium, by allowing him some free time to find the necessary peace to execute his psychographic works, It was in a period that Francisco was using the basement of Joviano's house to perform his psychographic works, when one of his most remarkable books, titled Paulo e Estevão (Paul and Stevan) came out. At the same time; a long refusal of gifts and honors started and lasted all his life, as an example: Fred Figner granted Francisco a huge amount of money in his will; which was promptly granted to FEB; by the medium.

As well as notoriety, the criticism from people who tried to discredit him strongly persisted. Chico Xavier said that also spiritual foes tried to involve him into negative fluids and temptations, apart from all living people,. Souto Maior (Brazilian journalist) reports an attempted of "lynching by spirits", as well as an episode which naked girls tried to seduce the medium in his bathtub. Note that; in both episodes there are common narrative aspects to the other proofs, commonly mentioned in stories of holiness.

Lawsuit from the widow of Humberto de Campos
During 1930, the publishing of the romances attributed to Emmanuel and the book Brasil, Coração do Mundo, Pátria do Evangelho, attributed to the spirit of Humberto de Campos were highlighted; in which the story of Brazil is interpreted in a mythical and theological way. As consequence; the last book mentioned here brought him a lawsuit from the widow of Humberto de Campos, who pleaded for the psychographed books copyrights, in case the legitimacy of the famous author from Maranhão (A state of Brazil) was proven.

The medium's defense was supported by FEB, further resulting in the classic A Psicografia Perante os Tribunais, (the psychography in the view of court) written by the lawyer Miguel Timponi. along the trial; the judge decided that books copyrights refer to books recognized while the author is alive; since it would be impossible for the court to prove the existence of mediunity. Even so; in order to avoid problems in the future, the spiritual writer's name was substituted by the nickname "Irmão X" (Brother X).

At that time, Francisco was hired by the federal public service, as a helper at Ministério da Agricultura (Ministry of Agriculture). It is important to highlight that; along his career as a public worker; there is no record of any absence from work.

Nosso Lar
In 1943, one of the most popular books in Brazilian spiritist literature was published, the novel titled Nosso Lar, the best seller and most disclosed from the medium's extensive psychographic writings; which became a movie of the same name in 2010.

This is the first book from a series whose authorship is attributed to the spirit of André Luis. During that time, the fame of Chico Xavier (Francisco's nickname) was increasing, more and more people looked for him in search of healing and messages, transforming the small town of Pedro Leopoldo into an informal center of pilgrimage. Francisco's former boss José Felizardo died very poor, the medium then, strived to get him a decent funeral; he went on around the town asking for donations; knocking on every one's door to collect money for the burial. According to Francisco's biographer Ubiratan Machado, "...even a blind homeless man donated the donations he had collected that day". (MACHADO, 1996:53).

The case Amauri Pena
In 1958, the Medium was involved in a controversial case due to the accusations coming from his nephew, Amauri Pena, son of Francisco's sister. The nephew was psychographic Medium and announced to the press to be a fraud, a very capable impostor, extending his declaration to his uncle Xavier. Chico denied any wrongdoing and any proximity or involvement with the nephew. Later remorseful by the damage he caused to his uncle's reputation he asked for forgiveness and dropping all the accusations he previously made. Amauri was then hospitalized in a mental hospital in São Paulo, where he eventually died at age 27.

The case Davi Nasser and Jean Manzon
In 1944 Journalists David Nasser and Jean Manzon made an unfriendly report of the Medium, which was published at "O Cruzeiro" magazine. The Reporters pretended to be foreigners using false names in order to test whether Chico was a fraud; Later when Nasser and Manzon arrived home after the interview, they were surprised to look in books Xavier had given them as gifts, as reported by Nasser in an interview with TV Cultura in 1980: "At dawn, Manzon called me and said, 'Have you seen the book that Chico Xavier gave to us?'. I said no. 'Well, you see,' he said. I was in my library, I picked up the book and written there was this: 'To my brother David Nasser, Emmanuel'. He had made a similar dedication to Manzon. It is things like that make me very afraid to get involved in Spiritism issues."

Partnership with Waldo Vieira
At that time, Chico Xavier met the young student of Medicine and medium Waldo Vieira; together they psychographed several books; until their abruption some years later. In 1959, Francisco moved to Uberaba, where he lived until the end of his days. He continued psychographing several books, approaching topics that were priority in the 60's; such as, sex, drugs, youth issues, technology, space travels among others. Uberaba then, became an informal center of pilgrimage, with thousands of people arriving every day; people hoping to make contact with deceased relatives. At that time; books of "messages" became popular; letters dictated by spirits of regular people to their family members; proceeding as well with constant campaigns of food and clothing distribution to the poor people around the town.

On May 22, 1965; Chico Xavier and Waldo Vieira travelled to the US in order to disclose spiritism abroad; with the help of Salim Salomão Haddad, president of Christian Spirit Center, and his wife Phillis, they studied English and launched the book titled The World of The Spirits (Ideal Espírita; Portuguese version).

Interviews on the television show Pinga-Fogo
In the beginning of 1970; Chico took part on the popular nationwide interview TV program called "Pinga Fogo" (Dripping Fire) which reached extremely high levels of audience throughout the country.

In his first appearance on the program Pinga-Fogo, journalist and philosopher João de Scantimburgo focused on the authenticity of Xavier's psychographic writing. João de Scantimburgo expressed skepticism about Xavier's prolific output and his ability to convincingly mimic the styles of diverse authors like Humberto de Campos and Guerra Junqueiro. He suggested that Xavier's subconscious, rather than spirits, might be responsible for these literary feats. Xavier, demonstrating his characteristic humility and politeness, countered this by maintaining that he serves merely as a channel for spirit authors, emphasizing that they dictate the content while he transcribes it. He acknowledged potential unconscious influences but credited his spirit guide, Emmanuel, for stylistic guidance and refinement. The conversation also touched upon the possibility of historical Catholic saints, such as St. Bridget of Sweden and St. Clare of Montefalco, possessing mediumnistic abilities.

The 1980s and '90s
At that time, his fame extended to other parts of the world, with several books translated into other languages, as well as adaptations for soap operas versions. By the end of 1990, the medium had already psychographed more than four hundreds books. At that time; it was estimated that approximately fifty millions of spiritist books were circulating in Brazil, from which; fifteen million of them were attributed to Chico Xavier and twelve millions to Kardec (SANTOS, 1997:89).

In 1994, the American tabloid National Examiner published an article saying, "Ghost writers make novelist a millionaire" The article was vaunted in Brazil by the extinct news magazine; revista Manchete, titled as Secretary of Ghosts, where it said that, according to National Examiner information; the Brazilian medium had made twenty million dollars as a "Secretary of Ghosts". Manchete magazine proceeded saying: "According to the newspapers, he is the first one to have admitted that the 380 books he had produced were by 'ghost-writers', "literally ghosts'", concluding that; Chico simply transcribes psychographed books through more than 500 deceased and buried writers and poets.

The medium; did not respond to the attacks, but FEB, publisher of most of Chico's books; through its then president Juvanir Borges de Souza sent a letter to the magazine; informing them that; all copyrights and remuneration from Francisco Cândido Xavier's books had been granted to charity; and that the same procedure was being performed with other publishers as well, yet; emphasizing that "the copyrights are granted absolutely for free, in order to make the books affordable enough, and as well contribute to the disclosure of the Spiritist Doctrine".

The same president of FEB, on October 4 of the same year; during the first Worldwide Spiritist Congress, presented a "vote of recognition and appreciation to the medium Francisco Cândido Xavier", approved by the FEB National Federative Council, under a proposal presented by the president of Federação Espírita do Estado de Sergipe. (Spiritist Federation from the state of Sergipe) In the document; the entities representing the spiritism in Brazil devoted their gratitude and respect for the medium "for his intense and extended works, for the example of life dedicated to studies and fraternity, disclosure and practices of spiritism, for the spiritual and material guidelines, assistance and help to the neighbor".

Death
Chico Xavier passed away from cardiorespiratory arrest on June 30, 2002, at the venerable age of 92. His friends and family shared that Chico had expressed a unique wish to God regarding the timing of his death. He hoped to pass away on a day when the people of Brazil were immersed in happiness and national celebration, believing that this would lessen the sadness of his departure. Remarkably, his passing coincided with a significant national event: it occurred on the very day Brazil celebrated its victory in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Chico Xavier's death took place approximately nine hours after the final match between Brazil and Germany, aligning poignantly with his wish.

Tributes
In 1981, appointed for the Nobel Peace Prize, when his name gathered 2 million signatures for submission. However, The Nobel Peace Prize 1981 was awarded to Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. In 1999, the Government of the State of Minas Gerais established the "Commendation of Peace Chico Xavier", award which is annually awarded to individuals or legal entities who work for peace and social well-being.

In 2000, Chico was elected the "Mineiro" from the 20th century, ("Mineiro" is the name given to people born in the state of Minas Gerais; Brazil) followed by Alberto Santos-Dumont (founder of the aviation in Brazil) and Juscelino Kubitschek (President of Brazil 1956 – 1961 and founder of Brasilia); in a contest performed by Rede Globo Minas, (Rede Globo Minas; TV station from the state of Minas Gerais) with 704.030 votes. After Chico Xavier died, the house where he lived between 1948 and 1959 and the house he lived in between 1959 and 2002 were transformed into non-profit museums in reference to his life and work; and the interior of Pedro Leopoldo's Modelo Farm, where he worked as a typist between 1930 and the late 1950s, was also transformed into a memorial in his honor.

In 2006, he was elected the "History's greatest Brazilian", in a contest performed by Época magazine.

In 2009, the Brazilian Government gave the name "Chico Xavier" for a passage of an important highway of the country, BR-050.

In 2010, his centenary has been marked by numerous celebrations in Brazil, like two feature films and a special postage stamp.

The city of Uberaba (Town where Chico lived) recently started the construction of a memorial in his honor.

In 2012, on the TV show "O Maior Brasileiro de Todos os Tempos" (The greatest Brazilian of all times), broadcast by SBT (Brazilian Television Channel), he was elected by popular votes, as one of the 12 greatest Brazilian citizens of all times; this way; he went on to the next step (02/08/2012), disputing against Irmã Dulce (catholic nun) on a knockout stage, he was elected by 50.5% of the votes. On the semifinal of the program he disputed against Ayrton Senna, (Brazilian Formula 1 racer) receiving 63.8% of the votes. At the end of the program, Chico competed against Alberto Santos-Dumont (founder of the aviation in Brazil) and Princess Isabel (responsible for the abolition of slavery in Brazil); but, he had been the one elected to become "the greatest Brazilian of all times" with 71.4% of the votes.

In 2016, the Chico Xavier Memorial was inaugurated in Uberaba, built in collaboration between the Chico Xavier Institute and the city hall.

On October 29, 2020, a life-size bronze statue of Xavier was inaugurated at Praça Rui Barbosa, in Uberaba. It was made by visual artist Vânia Braga.

Through Law 14.201 of 2021, Francisco Candido Xavier had his name inscribed in Livro dos Heróis e Heroínas da Pátria (the Book of Heroes and Heroines of the Fatherland), a document that preserves the names of figures who marked the history of Brazil and is found in the Tancredo Neves Pantheon of the Fatherland and Freedom, in Brasilia.

Biographic movie
In April 2010, date which Chico Xavier would turn 100 years old, the film "Chico Xavier" was released. It is based on the biography titled "As Vidas de Chico Xavier" (The lives of Chico Xavier), by journalist Marcel Souto Maior, and it was directed and produced by filmmaker Daniel Filho. Chico Xavier is portrayed by actors Matheus Costa, Ângelo Antônio and Nelson Xavier, respectively during three phases of his life: from 1918 to 1922, 1931 to 1959 and 1969 to 1975.

Skeptical reception
In 2010, Kentaro Mori published an article in the Skeptical Inquirer which accused Xavier of fraud. According to Mori, Xavier's close associate Waldo Vieira stated that the staff at Xavier's Spiritist Center in Brazil would help him by gathering information about his clients and faking psychic letters. He was also accused of using perfume in the séance room which was a common Spiritualist trick to pretend the scent was of supernatural origin. Xavier was associated with the spritist medium Otília Diogo, who fraudulently pretended to be a spirit by covering herself in white sheets, with a photo of Xavier and a sheeted Diogo being taken in 1964. The skeptic Karen Stollznow has also accused Xavier of hot reading.

Psychographic works


Chico Xavier wrote most of 450 allegedly psychographic books. He never admitted to be the author of any of his books. He affirmed he would only reproduce whatever the spirits dictated to him. Being the reason for why he would never accept the money attained from selling his books. He sold more than 50 million copies in Portuguese; with translations in English, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto, French, German, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Mandarin, Swedish, Braille, and other languages. He also transcribed around ten thousand letters allegedly from the dead to their families. The letters were declared legitimate by many people, and some of the letters were used as evidence in four criminal trials. Chico Xavier granted all the copyrights to charity institution since the first book.

His works are published by Centro Espírita União, Casa Editora O Clarim, Edicel, Federação Espírita Brasileira, Federação Espírita do Estado de São Paulo, Federação Espírita do Rio Grande do Sul, Fundação Marieta Gaio, Grupo Espírita Emmanuel s/c Editora, Comunhão Espírita Cristã, Instituto de Difusão Espírita, Instituto de Divulgação Espírita André Luiz, Livraria Allan Kardec Editora, Editora Pensamento, Editora Vinha de Luz and União Espírita Mineira. Even though he hadn't finished primary high school, he would write around six books a year, among romances, tales, philosophy, rehearsals, apologues, chronics, poems, etc. He is the most read author from Latin America (note: year of 2010).

His first books, Parnaso de Além-Túmulo, containing 256 poems attributed to deceased poets, among them, two being the Portuguese João de Deus, Antero de Quental and Guerra Junqueiro and the Brazilians Olavo Bilac, Cruz e Sousa and Augusto dos Anjos, was published for the first time in 1932; the book caused strong admiration and controversy among the literary circle from that time. Among other books, Nosso Lar was the one with the largest circulation, it was first published in 1944, which sold more than two million copies, attributed to the spirit of André Luiz, it was the first volume out of a collection composed by seventeen books, all of them psychographed by Chico Xavier, some of them in partnership with medium Doctor Waldo Vieira.

Through the decades, Chico produced thousands of psychographed letters for desperate parents and mothers who came to him in order to receive messages from their deceased sons and daughters. According to a survey from 1990, performed by the Spiritist Medical Association of São Paulo, the letters always contained much informations that was somehow familiar to the readers for whom the letters were intended, and 35 per cent of them carried an identical signature to the signature of the deceased.

One electroencephalogram study conducted during a mediumnistic trance by Dr. Elias Barbosa, Chico Xavier's family doctor, was reported by "Revista Planeta", a popular news magazine, in June 1973. It was suggested that Chico presented common characteristics of epilepsy, even though he was never epileptic, with claims that his brain activity was somehow "paranormal". Many years later, in February 2010, Dr. Guilherme Gustavo Riccioppo Rodrigues reviewed Barbosa's EEG study and found "no evidence to suggest clinical abnormality, let alone to support the idea that his brain is paranormal".