Divaldo Franco

Fairly unknown by the American public, Divaldo Pereira Franco is often regarded as the greatest Spiritist speaker of all times. Although a fair and encompassing portrait of his accomplishments would require us to dispense much more time and effort to the task at hand, we need not more than a couple of paragraphs about his life to understand the magnitude of the work Mr Franco has carried out throughout his many years as a writer, orator and educator.

Born in Feira de Santana, a small town in northeast Brazil, in the sate of Bahia, Divaldo displayed clairvoyance and clairaudience before he was 5 years old, and through his childhood, Divaldo played with friends from another dimension of life that others could not see or hear.

In 1947 Divaldo, along with his friend Nilson Pereira (who is also present here today, founded "Caminho da Redencao" Spiritist Center - this was the beginning of a labor of love to benefit the sick and those in need. Two years later, in 1949, Divaldo saw through clairvoyance a very large area with many children and, through clairaudience, Divaldo heard a voice stating that his life would be dedicated to caring for children in need.

In 1952, Mansão do Caminho was established to provide housing and care for orphaned children in Salvador, Bahia, through a system of foster homes.

An Educator

As an educator, Divaldo's life is also one marked by devotion. Since 1952 more than 600 adoptive sons and daughters have been raised in the system of foster homes at Mansao do Caminho.

As time went by elementary, middle, high and professional schools were created to cater to the ever growing number of children. "Mansao do Caminho" has become a very large educational institution complex with 22 activities which provide guidance to more than 3,000 children and teenagers everyday - all free of charge.

To this date, more than 30,000 boys and girls have received an education and care at “Mansão do Caminho's” many schools.

A Speaker

Divaldo has ministered more than 10,000 lectures and conferences in more than 300 cities worldwide. In the 25 states of Brazil alone he has lectured at more than 600 cities and has held lectures and seminars in 53 different countries: 21 in Europe, 21 in the Americas (North, South and Central), 5 in Africa and 6 in Asia. 

Divaldo has also spoken 7 times for the United Nations - 4 times in the New York headquarters, and 3 times in Austria, at the Vienna headquarters and has lectured in more than 40 universities throughout the world, always addressing issues of great importance for the human being in its search for enlightenment.  He has also done more than 215 interviews to various TV and radio stations throughout the world and, in Brazil, Divaldo's home country, he has been interviewed more than 800 times.

Honors Received

Mr. Franco has been recognized with 572 honors from around the world. Among these many honors, some stand out:

• "The degree of Doctor of Humanities Honoris Causa in Spiritual and Psychic Sciences" from the International College of Psychic and Spiritual Sciences and from the government of Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada;

• "Medaille de Reconnaisance" from the Humaniste Institute of Paris;

• "Medalha Camara Municipal de Leiria", Portugal;

• "Medalha da Cidade de Lobito", bestowed by Government of Angola, Africa;

• "Degree of Doctor of Parapsychology Honoris Causa" from Cyberam University in Illinois;

• "Degree of Dr Honoris Causa from the University of Bahia", which was the first time a title of Doctor Honoris Causa was given to a Spiritist medium; and

• "Diploma of the Order of Merit", a distinction given by decree of the President of Brazil to those who stand out at national level for their dedication and work in helping fostering the welfare of others.

A medium writer

Divaldo has co-authored more than 170 books through pschography - also known as automatic writing. Of those, approximately 100 have been translated into 15 different languages.

More than 217 spiritual writers have authored messages through his channeling, in languages he did not know, such as German, French, Italian, Castilian, Afrikaans and even backwards English.

"Hacia Las Estrellas", the first book to have been ever written through automatic writing in a language other than the medium's own.

Perhaps the most impressive fact of Mr. Franco's accomplishments as a medium and writer is that his works have sold an impressive amount of 7 million copies, and all of its proceeds go into helping maintain Mansao do Caminho.