August 29, 2025
Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes Cavalcanti (August 29, 1831 – April 11, 1900, Rio de Janeiro-RJ) was an exponent of the Spiritist Doctrine in Brazil in the 19th century.
Bezerra de Menezes worked for the benefit of the most needy, receiving the title of “doctor of the poor.”
He was president of the Brazilian Spiritist Federation on two occasions, in 1890 and in 1895 until his disincarnation, on April 11, 1900.
In addition to medicine, he worked as a journalist — being the editor of Reformador during the years in which he was president of the FEB.
As a politician, he was a member of parliament in the Chamber of Deputies for almost 30 years, developing several works in favor of the union and freedom of the scholars of the Spiritist Doctrine.
Spiritism had already been attracting crowds, when in 1875, Bezerra de Menezes was offered a copy of the first translation of The Spirits’ Book into Portuguese, delivered by its translator, Dr. Joaquim Carlos Travassos, who hid under the pseudonym Fortúnio.
After his return to the Spiritual Homeland, he has been working in the guidance of the Brazilian Spiritist Movement in the ideals of unification and union among spiritists, fundamental in his texts in Reformador.
The first message of Bezerra de Menezes received by the FEB occurred in 1901, published in the April edition.
The best known occurred on April 20, 1963, at the Christian Spiritist Communion, through the psychography of Chico Xavier.
KINDNESS AND RENUNCIATION
HE GAVE WHAT HE POSSESSED
On one occasion, a Father of a Family asked him, crying, for an obolus, some help in money to bury the body of his wife, whose Spirit had disincarnated, leaving him with his young children sick and hungry.
Bezerra looked for something in his pockets and found nothing.
He was moved!
And his emotion was a Prayer!
And, by intuition, detached from material things, he took from his finger the symbolic ring of Physician and handed it to the needy Brother, saying to him with affection and humility:
— Sell it, and with the money obtained, bury your wife’s body and then buy what you need.
May the Most Holy Mary help and bless you!
HE GAVE SOMETHING OF HIMSELF
He did not worry about money.
To him it was only a means and not an end.
Nor did he give much attention to material things, as we see.
It was enough to see a hungry one, a sufferer before him, and he gave him everything he had in his pockets.
And when, perhaps, he had no money at all, he gave something of himself, in a Hug, in a Look, in a Prayer!
He practiced Unknown Charity!
The companion of the selfless doctor had already arranged with his friend Cordeiro to charge those who could pay at the rate of five thousand réis per patient.
The money would not pass through Bezerra’s hands and should be sent to Mrs. Cândida. Bezerra knew this and agreed, provided that payment was received only from those in a position to pay...
One time, a poor woman entered his consulting room at the Cordeiro Pharmacy with a child in her arms. She sat down and presented her little son for examination.
The appearance of the poor woman, as well as that of the child, revealed misery and hunger.
Bezerra examined the child. He felt that his body was in a pitiful condition.
And he prescribed, advising the suffering mother:
— My daughter, give your son these medicines every hour. They are homeopathic remedies and, if you wish, you can buy them right here...
— Buy them, doctor, with what, if I have not even a nickel with me?
My son and I are up until now fasting...
The kind doctor looked at the suffering mother. His gentle green eyes, reflecting compassion, filled with tears.
They both wept!
The environment must have been moving and clothed in light and love!
Embracing her, Bezerra said to her: Do not worry, my daughter, I will help you. Let us trust in the love of the Virgin, who watches over all of us.
He searched in the pockets of his trousers and coat for some money and found nothing. He began to think, looking upwards, as if making a silent and heartfelt Prayer.
Suddenly, making her sit down, he went out and sought his friend Cordeiro, also gentle and good.
— Cordeiro, I promised you not to touch the money from the consultations, so that you would send it directly to my wife.
But today’s case is painful... Has anything come in yet?
— Nothing, because the patients, until now, are poor, and as your order is to receive only from those who can pay...
— And the result from yesterday, have you delivered it yet?
— No, it is still with me.
— Then give me this money, and let us hope in the protection of the Virgin, who will surely send us more, later.
Cordeiro attended to him. Bezerra went back into the consulting room.
And, addressing the unfortunate sister in trials:
— Take this, my daughter, this envelope. With the money that is there, buy medicines, also milk and food for your son.
The poor mother, with surprised, tearful eyes, trembling lips, stammered and could say nothing to thank him — she wept...
And Bezerra, embracing her:
— No tears, come now, go in the holy Peace of God, and may the Virgin protect you and your little son. He will get well...
Thus cared for, the suffering mother left the consulting room.
And when she turned back at the door to give thanks, she heard only the gentle and kind voice of Bezerra:
— Let the one who is first in line come in.
The next day, Cordeiro and Mrs. Cândida had a long conversation. Both became aware of the meritorious action.
They praised it in silence. And, although knowing that other such actions would take place, they trusted in the Love of the Virgin, and, in fact, from then on, the few who could pay, paid. The poor patients, the majority, paid nothing.
And the little, with God, entered the Spiritist Harvest filling the bodies and souls of their families with something blessed by the Love of the Father and Creator, who is God!
Life and Work Dr. Bezerra de Menezes
By Antonio Nóbrega Filho Humberto Mauro Mendonça Machado (Organizers)
PRESENTATION
Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes was one of the most illustrious and worthy men in the history of Ceará, having excelled in medicine, letters, politics, and especially in human solidarity, becoming a legend in the Spiritist Community of Ceará.
Throughout his life, he demonstrated numerous times, through his actions and attitudes, his choice to help the most needy, the socially excluded, to the detriment of a financial life more consistent with his social status.
He practiced political activity based on ethics and moral principles, and for this reason he was the object of defamatory campaigns against his person.
Disillusioned with politics, he abandoned public life and dedicated himself entirely to the poorest layers of society, having as one of his main differentials the profound knowledge of the need to share knowledge and financial resources.
The Legislative Assembly of the State of Ceará is pleased to socialize the story of Bezerra de Menezes through the publication of this booklet that narrates his life trajectory, with remarkable moments and through photographs that, due to time, do not have a precise definition for the importance of this publication.
Deputy Domingos Filho President of the Legislative Assembly of Ceará
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
With regard to the missionary aspect of the life of Bezerra de Menezes, the work Brazil, Heart of the World, Homeland of the Gospel, by Chico Xavier, attributed to the spirit of Humberto de Campos, states:
"You will descend to the earthly struggles with the purpose of concentrating our energies in the country of the Southern Cross, directing them toward the sacred target of our efforts. You will muster all the scattered elements, with the dedications of your spirit, so that we may create our nucleus of spiritual activities, within the lofty purposes of reform and regeneration."
MISSÃO CUMPRIDA
Com relação ao aspecto missionário da vida de Bezerra de Menezes, a obra Brasil, Coração do Mundo, Pátria do Evangelho, de Chico Xavier, atribuído ao espírito de Humberto de Campos, afirma:
"Descerás às lutas terrestres com o objetivo de concentrar as nossas energias no país do Cruzeiro, dirigindo-as para o alvo sagrado dos nossos esforços. Arregimentarás todos os elementos dispersos, com as dedicações do teu espírito, a fim de que possamos criar o nosso núcleo de atividades espirituais, dentro dos elevados propósitos de reforma e regeneração."[23]
BIOGRAPHY DR. BEZERRA DE MENEZES
Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes was born in the old Parish of Riacho do Sangue (today Jaguaretama), in the State of Ceará, on August 29, 1831, discarnating in Rio de Janeiro, on April 11, 1900.
In the year 1838, he entered the public school of Vila do Frade, where, in just ten months, he qualified himself to the limit of the knowledge that was transmitted to him by the teacher who directed the first phase of his education.
Very early on he revealed his dazzling intelligence, as at 11 years of age he began the course of Humanities and, at 13, he knew Latin so well that he himself taught it to his companions, substituting for the class teacher in his absences.
His father, the captain of the old militias and lieutenant-colonel of the National Guard, Antônio Bezerra de Menezes, a severe man, of utmost honesty and unblemished character, had a fortune in cattle ranches.
Politics and his good heart made him give favorable allowances to relatives and friends who sought him out to exploit his feelings of charity, compromising his fortune.
Realizing, however, that his debts equaled his assets, he sought out his creditors and proposed to give them everything he owned, which was enough to pay off the debt in full.
The creditors, all his friends, refused the proposal, telling him to pay how and when he wished.
The honorable old man insisted.
However, he could not persuade the creditors on this resolution, so he decided to become a mere administrator of what had been his fortune, taking from it only what was strictly necessary for the maintenance of his family, which thus went from affluence to hardship.
Animated by the firm purpose of guiding himself by the upright character of his father, Bezerra de Menezes, with the meager sum that his relatives gave him and animated by the purpose of overcoming all obstacles, left for Rio de Janeiro, in order to follow the career that his vocation inspired in him: Medicine.
In November 1852, he entered as a resident practitioner at the Hospital da Santa Casa de Misericórdia.
He obtained his doctorate in 1856 from the Faculty of Medicine of Rio de Janeiro, defending the thesis "Diagnosis of Cancer".
At that point, he abandoned his last patronymic, and began to sign only Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes.
On April 27, 1857, he applied for a position as a full member of the Imperial Academy of Medicine, with the dissertation "Some Considerations on Cancer from the Treatment Point of View".
The opinion was read by the designated rapporteur, Academician José Pereira Rego, on May 11, 1857, with the election taking place on May 18 of the same year and the inauguration on June 1st.
In 1858, he applied for a position as a substitute professor in the Surgery Section of the Faculty of Medicine.
Through the intercession of master Manoel Feliciano Pereira de Carvalho, then Surgeon-General of the Army, Bezerra de Menezes was appointed his assistant, with the rank of Surgeon-Lieutenant.
Elected municipal councilor for the Liberal Party in 1861, his election was challenged by the conservative leader Haddock Lobo, on the grounds that he was a military doctor.
With the objective of serving his party, which needed him to have a majority in the Chamber, he decided to leave the Army.
In 1867, he was elected General Deputy, and was also included on a three-name list for a career in the Senate.
When he was a politician, harsh campaigns of insult were raised against him, as happens with all honest politicians, covering his name with insults.
However, he gave proof of the purity of his soul when he decided to abandon public life and dedicate himself to the poor, sharing the little he had with the needy.
He always ran to the poor man's hovel where there was an evil to fight, bringing to the afflicted the comfort of his kind word, the resource of his medical profession, and the help of his meager and generous purse.
Temporarily away from political activity, he dedicated himself to business enterprises.
He created the Macaé/Campos Railroad Company, in the then province of Rio de Janeiro.
Later, he engaged in the construction of the Santo Antônio de Pádua Railway, intending to take it to the Rio Doce, a desire he was unable to fulfill.
He was one of the directors of the Architectural Company that, in 1872, opened the Boulevard 28 de Setembro, in the then neighborhood of Vila Isabel.
In 1875, he was president of the São Cristóvão Tramway Company.
Returning to politics, he was elected councilor in 1876, serving the term until 1880.
He was also president of the Chamber and General Deputy for the Province of Rio de Janeiro, in the year 1880.
Dr. Carlos Travassos had undertaken the first translation of the works of Allan Kardec and had brought to a successful conclusion the Portuguese version of "The Spirits' Book".
As soon as this book came off the press, he took a copy to Deputy Bezerra de Menezes, handing it to him with a dedication.
The episode was described as follows by the future Doctor of the Poor:
"He gave it to me in the city and I lived in Tijuca, an hour's journey by tram.
I boarded with the book and, as I had no distraction for the long journey, I said to myself: well, goodbye! I shall not go to hell for reading this...
Besides, it is ridiculous to confess myself ignorant of this philosophy, when I have studied all the philosophical schools.
Thinking thus, I opened the book and became attached to it, as had happened with the Bible. I read. But I found nothing that was new to my Spirit. However, all that was new to me!... I had already read or heard everything that was in "The Spirits' Book".
I became seriously concerned with this wonderful fact and said to myself: it seems I was an unconscious spiritist, or, as is commonly said, by birth".
His literary capacity in the philosophical field having been demonstrated, both by his replies and by his doctrinal studies, the Propaganda Commission of the Spiritist Union of Brazil entrusted Bezerra de Menezes with writing a series of articles on Sundays in O Paiz, a traditional organ of the Brazilian press, directed by Quintino Bocaiúva, under the title Spiritism - Philosophical Studies.
The articles by Max, the pseudonym of Bezerra de Menezes, marked the golden age of spiritist propaganda in Brazil.
These articles were published, uninterruptedly, from 1886 to 1893.
In the bibliography of Bezerra de Menezes, before and after his conversion to Spiritism, the following works are listed: "Slavery in Brazil and the measures that should be taken to extinguish it without harm to the Nation"; "Brief considerations on the droughts of the North"; "The Haunted House"; "Madness under a New Prism"; "The Spiritist Doctrine as Theogonic Philosophy"; "Marriage and Shroud"; "Black Pearl"; "Lazarus - the Leper"; "History of a Dream"; "Gospel of the Future". He also wrote several biographies of famous men, such as the Viscount of Uruguay, the Viscount of Carvalas.
He was one of the editors of "A Reforma", a liberal organ of the Court, and editor of the newspaper "Sentinela da Liberdade".
On August 16, 1886, an audience of about two thousand people from the best society filled the hall of honor of the Guarda Velha, on Guarda Velha street, now Avenida 13 de Maio, in Rio de Janeiro, to listen in silence, moved, astonished, to the wise word of the eminent politician, the eminent doctor, the eminent citizen, the eminent Catholic, Dr. Bezerra de Menezes, who proclaimed his decided conversion to Spiritism.
Bezerra de Menezes held the charge of a doctor as a true priesthood.
Therefore, he used to say: A doctor does not have the right to finish a meal, nor to choose the time, nor to ask if it is far or near, when any afflicted person knocks on his door.
He who does not attend because he has visitors, because he has worked a lot and is tired, or because it is late at night, the road or the weather is bad, it is far away or on the hill, who, above all, asks for a car from someone who has no way to pay for the prescription, or tells the one who cries at the door to look for another, this one is not a doctor, he is a medicine merchant, who works to collect capital and interest from the expenses of graduation.
This is an unfortunate one, who sends to another the angel of charity who came to pay him a visit and brought him the only alms that could quench the thirst for wealth of his Spirit, the only one that was never lost in the comings and goings of life.
A small story of a great soul.
On a very rainy day, in the winter of 1896, Dr. Bezerra de Menezes was leaving the old building of the Brazilian Spiritist Federation, in Rio de Janeiro. Then, as he reached the exit door, he saw a thin man, looking very fragile, soaked by the rain and trembling with cold. He approached Dr. Bezerra, although very embarrassed, to ask him for some help. He said that he was a bricklayer, but had lost his job and could not find another.
— Doctor, I have a fever, my wife is feeling very ill, she is sick. We live in Morro da Mangueira with my little boy too, and it has been days since we have eaten.
Dr. Bezerra searched all his pockets, but found nothing to offer, not even a simple coin. However, with the kindness that was natural to him, moved by the suffering shown by the humble worker and father of a family, he quickly took off his own coat, helped the man put it on, and said to him:
— Everything I have, I give to you. When you get home, embrace your wife and your little boy, in the name of Jesus.
He embraced him tenderly and then set off towards his home.
In the blessed embrace, a simple gesture imbued with the kindness and faith of Dr. Bezerra de Menezes.
One day, some time later, Dr. Bezerra was going down the same old stairs of the Federation. And then, as he reached the gate, he saw a cheerful-looking man coming toward him. He looked well, was shaved and well dressed, approached, and thus asked:
— Doctor, do you remember me?
— Vaguely, I confess, replied Dr. Bezerra de Menezes.
— I am the one who came to ask you for help, and you gave me your coat. See it here. And besides, I also bought new trousers. You gave everything you had, what a treasure you gave me! You gave me a hug and the fever went away.
— I got home, my wife was crying. I told her everything that had happened and I also gave her a hug, and the fever disappeared. Then the two of us embraced our little boy and began to sing, thanking God despite the hunger, when someone knocked at our door. I went to answer, it was a friend who told me:
— I have just signed a contract for a job and I need a bricklayer. Since you are my friend, I thought of you and came to ask if you can do this work with me.
— Ah, Doctor, it was not you who embraced me. It was Jesus Christ! And I needed to come to thank you for all these blessings that we received and that certainly were brought about by your embrace!
Dr. Bezerra then, moved by the demonstration of faith, humbly replied:
— If only I had the strength to transmit the energy of the Lord… But, without a doubt, He answered your prayers!
In the year 1883, a frankly dispersive environment reigned within Spiritism in Brazil, and those who directed the spiritist centers in Rio de Janeiro felt the need for a closer and indestructible union.
The Spiritist Centers, where the Doctrine was taught, worked autonomously.
Each of them carried out its activity in a specific sector, unconcerned with knowing the activities of the others.
This state of affairs led them to the founding of the Brazilian Spiritist Federation (FEB).
At that time, many spiritist societies already existed, but the only ones that maintained hegemony were four: the Academic; the Fraternity; the Spiritist Union of Brazil and the Brazilian Spiritist Federation. However, rivalries and discords soon arose among them.
Under the auspices of Bezerra de Menezes, and following important instructions given by Allan Kardec through the medium Frederico Júnior, the famous Spiritist Center was founded.
However, Bezerra did not fail to give his cooperation to all other institutions.
The enthusiasm of the spiritists soon cooled, and the old sower found himself abandoned by his companions, becoming the only attendee of the Center.
The split was profound between the so-called "mystics" and "scientists," that is, spiritists who accepted Spiritism in its religious aspect, and those who accepted it simply for its scientific and philosophical side.
In 1893, the convulsion caused in Brazil by the Navy Revolt led to the closing of all societies, spiritist or not.
On Christmas of the same year, Bezerra ended the series of "Philosophical Studies" that he had been publishing in "O Paiz".
In 1894, the atmosphere showed signs of improvement and Bezerra's name was remembered as the only one capable of unifying the spiritist family.
The tireless fighter, at 63 years of age, assumed the presidency of the Brazilian Spiritist Federation.
The year 1900 began, and Bezerra de Menezes was struck by a violent cerebral congestion, which prostrated him in bed, from which he would never rise again.
A true pilgrimage of visitors flocked to his house. Sometimes the rich, sometimes the poor, sometimes the opulent, sometimes he who had nothing.
No one was unaware of the tremendous struggle in which the family of the great apostle of Spiritism was engaged.
Everyone knew his financial difficulties, but no one would have the courage to offer anything directly.
Therefore, the visitors delicately placed their alms under his pillow.
The next day, the person who went to change his pillowcases was surprised to see there everything from the poor man's penny to the wealthy man's two hundred thousand réis note!...
He discarnated on April 11, 1900.
After his discarnation, a true pilgrimage went to his residence to pay him the last visit.
On April 17, promoted by Leopoldo Cirne, some of Bezerra's friends gathered to reach an agreement on the best way to support his family, and a commission was then formed that worked under the presidency of Quintino Bocaiúva, senator of the Republic, to promote shows and concerts for the benefit of the family of the one who deserved the nickname "Brazilian Kardec".
Worthy of record was a case that happened to Dr. Bezerra de Menezes, when he was still a medical student.
He was in serious financial difficulties, needing the sum of fifty thousand réis (old Brazilian currency), for the payment of the Faculty fees and for other indispensable expenses in his dwelling, as the landlord, without any consideration, threatened to evict him.
Desperate - one of the rare times Bezerra despaired in life - and as he was not an unbeliever, he raised his eyes to the Heights and appealed to God.
A few days later, there was a knock on his door. It was a pleasant young man with polite manners who wanted to arrange some mathematics lessons.
Bezerra refused at first, claiming that this was the subject he most detested, however, the visitor insisted and finally, remembering his desperate situation, he decided to accept.
The young man then claimed that he might squander the allowance received from his father, and asked for permission to pay for all the classes in advance.
After some reluctance, convinced, he agreed. The young man then handed him the sum of fifty thousand réis.
Having arranged the day and time for the start of the classes, the visitor said goodbye, leaving Bezerra very happy, as he was thus able to pay the rent and the Faculty fees.
He looked for books in the public library to prepare himself in the subject, but the boy never appeared again.
In the year 1894, in view of the prevailing dissensions within Brazilian Spiritism, some brethren, led by Dr. Bittencourt Sampaio, decided to invite Bezerra to assume the presidency of the Brazilian Spiritist Federation.
In view of his reluctance to take on that thorny task, the following conversation took place: They want me to return to the Federation. As you know, that old society is without a president and disoriented. Instead of methodical works on Spiritism or the Gospel, it lives to discuss byzantine theses and to feed the spirit of hegemony.
The worker in the vineyard, said Bittencourt Sampaio, is always supported.
The Federation may be wrong in its doctrinal propaganda, but it has the Assistance to the Needy, which is enough in itself to attract to it the sympathies of the Lord's servants.
Agreed. But the Assistance to the Needy is exclusively adopting Homeopathy in the treatment of the sick, a therapy that I adopt in my personal treatment, in that of my family, and recommend to my friends, without, however, being a homeopathic doctor.
This, by the way, has created serious difficulties for me, making me a useless and displaced doctor who does not believe in official medicine and advises that of the Spirits, thus not having the right to practice the profession.
And why don't you become a homeopathic doctor? said Bittencourt. I don't understand a thing about Homeopathy. I use the one of the Spirits and not the one of the doctors.
At that moment, the medium Frederico Júnior, incorporating the Spirit of St. Augustine, made an aside:
All the better. We will help you with greater ease in the treatment of our brothers.
How, kind Spirit? Do you suggest I live off Spiritism?
No, certainly not! You will live from your profession, giving your client the fruit of your human knowledge, for that studying Homeopathy as our companion Bittencourt advised you.
We will help you in another way: By bringing you, when you need them, new disciples of Mathematics.
Source: Spiritist Biographies Website accessed on 07/25/2008 www.espiritismogi.com.br/biografias/bezerra.htm
world: “Outside of Christ there is no solution.”
Bezerra de Menezes Source: Paulo e Estevão Spiritist Group
Attachments: Published Articles and Works Curriculum Photos
Page 35 (Image)
Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes Published Articles and Works:
Diagnoses of Cancer.
Some considerations on cancer, from the perspective of its treatment.
On the operations required by the narrowing of the urethra.
Biography of the Viscount of Uruguay, Paulino José Soares de Souza.
Biography of Viscount Caravelas, Manoel Alves Branco.
Slavery in Brazil, and measures that should be taken to extinguish it without harm to the Nation.
Brief considerations on the droughts of the North.
The sheep of Panurge.
The Spiritist Doctrine as Theogonic Philosophy or A Letter from Bezerra de Menezes.
Madness under a New Prism.
Spiritism, (Philosophical Studies).
The dead who live.
Secrets of Nature.
The Black Pearl.
Gospel of the Future.
Lazarus, the Leper.
History of a Dream.
Bandit.
The Haunted House.
Journey through the Centuries.
Marriage and Shroud, (incomplete).
Wrote for “A Sentinela da Liberdade” in the period of 1869/70.
Spiritist doctrinal articles in the newspaper “O Paiz” in the period of 1877 to 1894.
Editor-in-chief of “Reformador”, organ of the Brazilian Spiritist Federation.
Page 36 (Image)
Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes Was a member of:
National Academy of Medicine and honorary member of the Surgical section.
Pharmaceutical Institute.
Geographical Society of Lisbon.
Auxiliary Society of National Industry.
Physico-Chemical Society.
Society for the Propagation of Fine Arts.
Beneficent Society of Ceará, (President).
Council of the Lyceum of Arts and Crafts.
São Cristóvão Urban Tram Company, (President).
Macaé to Campos Railroad Company, (Founder).
Architectural Company, (Director).
References
[1] Federação Espírita Brasileira. Reformador. Rio de Janeiro; Brasília: 1883 to 2025.
Available for research at febmidia.com/revista_reformador
[2] WANTUIL, Z. Grandes espíritas do Brasil. 2nd ed. Rio de Janeiro: FEB, 1969. p. 232.
3. Bezerra de Menezes – Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre https://share.google/I23Rez9Gd2LOKO3mF
4. Brasil_Coracao_do_Mundo_Patria_do_Evangelho.pdf https://share.google/WzmzitbhhzMnvqpIw
#efemeridesespiritas #comunicacaofeb #federacaoespiritabr #brasilespirita
---
