Stacks Image 5

Padrinho Sebastião



Padrinho Sebastião believed that the right strategy in this battle was for each one to arrive, through a more or less thorny experience of karma, to the understanding of the possibility in our present life for man to see woman as the presence of the Supreme Virgin and for woman to see man as the image of Christ. And for that there are many pathways.
SÃO JOÃO NA TERRA (Colônia 5000)

Depoimentos do Padrinho Wilson Carneiro e Bendito Padrinho Sebastião.

Creditos : Hinos do Santo Daime

Saint John on earth (Colony 5000)

Statements From Godfather Wilson Carneiro and Blessed Godfather Sebastian.
Stacks Image 34
Stacks Image 40
Stacks Image 18
Padrinho Sebastião Sebastião Mota de Melo (1920-1990), one of the direct disciples of Master Irineu, continued his master’s work. Listening very well to what nature told him, and knowing that it was his mission to bring the Santo Daime to the whole country, he created a community deep into the rainforest, from where he would lead the expansion of the doctrine to the cities of Brazil.
Stacks Image 26
Community

Sebastião Mota de Melo organized his followers into a communitarian experience to further develop the ideals of Master Irineu: the equality of men and perfection in work, meditation and reverence for nature. By 1975, the group around Sebastião Mota de Melo and Rita Gregório had grown to a spiritual community known as 'Colónia Cinco Mil' (colony five thousand), set up on the outskirts of Rio Branco, composed of 45 families. The families that were previously formed mostly by peasants and rubber latex workers from the Amazon region, also began to receive middle class people, intellectuals, and artists. The charisma and reliance of Padrinho Sebastião on the spiritual dimension and the doctrine led him to guide a group through the accomplishment of a communal project founded on the simple teachings disclosed by the hymns, suggesting to turn back to nature and reminding his brothers and sisters the simple values of the community and down-to-earth ecological consciousness.
Stacks Image 28
Céu do Mapiá

Sebastião began to have visions in which the rainforest called him to leave the city and settle back in the forest. Padrinho Sebastião, as his many godchildren began to call him, opened the way into the forest, and, after some initial ventures, founded the city of 'Céu do Mapiá' (Heaven of Mapiá) in the state of the Amazonas, located two days away from the nearest village by canoe. Céu do Mapiá began to be visited by Brazilian and foreign followers, having become an outstanding place of pilgrimage. With about 700 inhabitants living an ecologically-aware lifestyle, and a great floating population of visitors, it faces today the challenge of getting ready to play its role as the worldwide headquarters for a spiritual mission whose high quality is widely recognized. The community's home was safeguarded in 1989 by a decision of the Brazilian government to create a National Forest in the rainforest surrounding Céu de Mapiá, and they form the center of one and a half million acre protected reserve. The village is now considered a model of rainforest preservation through the practice of a sustainable economy.
Stacks Image 30
Stacks Image 32
Mestre Fundador

In 1991, Padrinho Sebastião returned to the spiritual dimension, and passed the leadership of the Santo Daime religion to one of his sons, Alfredo Gregório de Melo. Padrinho Sebastião is now refered to as the 'Mestre Fundador' (master founder), for having founded the model of communitarian life within the Santo Daime doctrine. The beloved Madrinha Rita is still living in Cþu do Mapiá, together with her children and grandchildren, protecting the precious work of Padrinho Sebastião, and welcoming visitors of countries from all over the world.
Stacks Image 42
Stacks Image 12
Stacks Image 16
Stacks Image 14
Stacks Image 36
Stacks Image 38
Stacks Image 45
"The determined day" January 20th 1990. Saint Sebastian Day! The patron of the city of Rio de Janeiro!

In the salao a small group sings the New Jerusalem, after the last spiritist work in benefit to Padrinho Sebastião.

Padrinho, already gathered, gets up from the bed. madrinha Rita asks, where is Sebastian going?

- To the bathroom, respond

Then she hears a noise. Arriving in the bathroom, padrinho Sebastião is lying on the floor.

Madrinha Rita begs padrinho to stand up.

The pain at seeing him not responding to his appeals is contagious.

Maria Toca and Dodo arrive in the bathroom.

Maria Brilhante, Sr. Veríssimo, Marcos Imperial, Vera Fróes, Ângela, and Dr mineradora and the group go up to see what was happening.

Padrinho Sebastião is taken out of the bedroom. The doctor examines and runs out of courage to say that his heart has stopped.

The women around the bed massaged his body, praying God would revive him.

Mr Verissimo with his voice choked with emotion, states, "Padrinho Sebastião made his passage."

Rita, beg, Bastian you know me so well, help me to endure this pain, give me understanding, give me conformation. The force that made the request equals the pain that shows.

Finally after two hours looking for a phone that works and someone to answer, Marcos Imperial manages to give the sad news to the Ceu do Mar after the closing of the hinário " O Justiceiro”

From the Ceu do Mar come the daughter Isabel, Nonata, Marlene, Iracema and Glorinha accompanied by Paulo Roberto, José Mendonça, Paulo Rodrigues. Later son Alfredo interrupted the trip to new groups.

Rita shares her pain with each child.

Gradually the light of understanding and firmness that surrounds it is visible. It is the master acting, fulfilling his request.

The emotion is general, to witness such a serious moment, the departure of an enlightened man from the earth, saying goodbye to the material world.

Embalmed receives honors from illustrious spiritual master giving opportunities for many to resent his last honors.

Concealed in the Céu do Mapiá Church, for three days and three nights, he is transported by helicopter to Rio Branco airport receiving new honors.

Finally in the forest Céu do Mapiá is veiled for another three days and three nights, he is buried.

As an eyewitness, he does not fail to point out the fact that Padrinho Sebastião made his way on a festive day, São Sebastião, the anniversary of the city of Rio de Janeiro, when his churches honor him with the hinario the "O Justiceiro." To be in stone of Guaratiba, in the Church Queen of the Sea, and to have asked Vera Fróes to only sing the "New Jerusalem" on blue uniform thinks that until the time to retire, Padrinho Sebastião chose the best possible way.


" O dia determinado"
No salão la em baixo pequeno grupo canta a Nova Jerusalém, após o último trabalho espírita em benefício ao Padrinho Sebastião.

O padrinho já recolhido, se levanta da cama. Madrinha Rita pergunta, para onde vai Sebastião?

- Para o banheiro, responde

Em seguida ouve se um barulho. Chegando ao banheiro o padrinho Sebastião esta caído no chão.

Madrinha Rita implora ao Padrinho que a levante.

A dor em vê-lo não responder seus apelos é contagiante.

Maria Toca e Dodô chegam ao banheiro.

Maria Brilhante, Sr Veríssimo, Marcos Imperial, Vera Fróes, Ângela, médica mineira e o grupo sobem para ver o que estava acontecendo.

Padrinho Sebastião é levado para o quarto. A médica examina e fica sem coragem para dizer que seu coração havia parado.

As mulheres ao redor da cama massageiam seu corpo rogando a Deus reavivá-lo.

Sr Verissímo com a voz embargada pela emoção declara, " o Padrinho Sebastião fez a passagem" .

Madrinha Rita, implora, Bastião voce me conhece tão bem, me ajude a aguentar essa dor, me de compreensão, me de conformação. A força que fez o pedido se iguala a dor que deixa transparecer.

Finalmente depois de duas horas procurando um telefone que funcionasse e alguém para atender, Marcos Imperial consegue dar a triste notícia ao Céu do Mar após o fechamento do hinário " O Justiceiro".

Do Céu do Mar chegam as filha Isabel, Nonata, Marlene, Iracema e Glorinha acompanhadas do Paulo Roberto, José Mendonça, Paulo Rodrigues. Mais tarde o filho Alfredo que interrompe a viagem à novos grupos.

Madrinha Rita compartilha sua dor com cada filho.

Aos poucos é visível a luz da compreensão e da firmeza que a envolve. É o mestre agindo, atendendo seu pedido.

A emoção é geral, testemunhar um momento tão sério, a saída de um homem iluminado da terra, se despedindo do mundo material.

Embalsamado recebe honras de ilustre mestre espiritual dando oportunidades para muitos reseder-lhe as últimas homenagens.

Velado na Igreja Céu do Mapiá, por três dias e três noites, é transportado de helicóptero para o aeroporto de Rio Branco recebendo novas homenagens.

Finalmente na floresta Céu do Mapiá é velado por novamente mais três dias e três noites, é sepultado.

Como testemunha ocular, não da para deixar de assinalar o fato do Padrinho Sebastião ter feito sua passagem num dia festivo, dia de São Sebastião, aniversário da cidade do Rio de Janeiro, quando suas igrejas o homenageiam com o hinario o " Justiceiro". Estar em pedra de Guaratiba, na Igreja Rainha do Mar, e, ter pedido a Vera Fróes para somente cantar a " Nova Jerusalém" de farda azul faz pensar que ate na hora de se retirar, o Padrinho Sebastião escolheu a melhor maneira possível.
Stacks Image 47
THE PASSAGE OF PADRINHO SEBASTIÃO SAINT SEBASTIÃO'S DAY - JANUARY 20, 1990
Excerpt from the book "Bença, Padrinho" (Lucius Mortimer, 2000)

"The Padrinho's heart did not stop giving warning signs of his end. However, a date can be taken as a reference to the beginning of the pain, the beginning of the ascent of his ordeal. It was on Father's Day, in 1989. the date that his hymnal would be sung, he passed in the clear, fighting the lack of air and the discomfort of the vital organ that was swollen.

From this occasion the old warrior left the scene. He no longer went into the forest to carve canoes, nor did he go up the church slope. He spent his nights vigilant, fearful of sleep and death catching him off guard.

Far from medical resources and in the face of so much suffering, it was decided to appeal to the old Amazonian formula: at the request of Padrinho, he came from Boca do Acre to Iracema, famous in the city for the gift of praying and healing. The woman worked with mediumship. She was an expert at sucking people's bodies out of her mouth, extracting needles, insects, hair buns, cigarette butts, and other junk that she said were the main causes of illness. People were contaminated by influences or macumbas of bad people. from our patient the rezadeira extracted an insect and the tip of a pito or porronca. While this treatment soothed him, allowing him some rest, it wasn't enough to get him out of bed.

The village had its own healers, some from the south, like Clara and Maria Alice. These women paid the most attention, with massages, teas, prayers, etc. Padrinho was very grateful and submitted to all the therapies. A man of prestige like him couldn't have died without proper medical care. The patient resisted leaving the forest, but eventually relapsed and agreed, but set a date. His birthday was approaching and the Cruzeiro hinário would be sung on that occasion. Just as he was miraculously cured in the first contact with Mestre Irineu, he wanted this new meeting through the ritual. If he was in the plans of Divine Power, he would come out refreshed.

A great feast was prepared in the village. An immense cake, two meters long and thirty centimeters high, was produced with great care and fillings, by women led by Graça, who came from Rio Branco especially for this purpose. Given the seriousness and urgency of the health problem, everything was prepared for the trip to take place right after the hymnal. Padrinho spent the night awake, listening to the sound from the church where the master's living word, sung in the hymns, came from. He was very comforted. Instead of getting a cure prodigious, the certainty came to him to surrender and set out on the journey in search of better resources.

Still on the morning of the party, the aircraft took off from the village carrying the birthday boy. The huge cake was left and the whole people had a lump in their throats, a tightness in their hearts, because in the
deep down it was clear that this was the final farewell. The birthday party has totally lost its joy. The people preferred to disperse. I don't know what was done with so much candy.

On the seventh of October, the date on which he turned sixty-nine, the helicopter came to pick him up in the forest. A jet specialized in cardiac care was waiting at Rio Branco airport, with a doctor on board and all emergency resources. The plane had taken off from Rio
de Janeiro especially to transport it. An operation dedicated to the care of rich people, managed by his son-in-law Paulo Roberto, with financial support from the brotherhood of Rio.

Padrinho was suffering from the symptoms of Chagas disease, which swells the heart. How he got it nobody knows, because he never lived in endemic areas where the barber bug occurs,
transmitter of this disease. Well medicated by the best specialists, he resisted for a while longer, surrounded by the affection and attention of all the godchildren in the south. He spent Christmas and New Year in good spirits. Always nostalgic for the Amazon, he still hoped for a miracle to bring him back to the midst of his people. Doctors' orders were strict, they didn't give him permission to travel.

Céu do Mar is the name of the main daimista center in Rio. It is located in a privileged place, inside the Tijuca forest, in the São Conrado district, south zone, where people are financially gifted. This good location greatly alleviated the discomfort of being in the city, especially for those who spent their entire lives in the bush.

When the feast day of São Sebastião arrived, from the 19th to the 20th of January, Céu do Mar was decked out for the celebrations of the patron saint of the city. On this date, as usual, the Padrinho's hinário would be sung. The hall was packed beforehand.

As he was feeling in a good mood, because his heart was working properly, our patient decided to change his program. I was going to spend this party in another smaller daimista spot, as I owed a visit to Marcos Imperial and Vera Fróes, who ran the Rainha do Mar Center in Pedra de Guaratiba. sea, where the doctrine was also cultivated.

There, they would perform a simpler ritual, in keeping with the situation of the visitor who could go to rest earlier. In Céu do Mar, the celebrations would turn into the night. That's exactly what happened. Before midnight, Padrinho felt the need to
rest, but asked that after the healing hymns the “New Jerusalem”, his second hymnbook, be sung and danced. He recommended everyone a lot of joy and excitement, because from upstairs he would be listening.

When the clock struck two in the morning, he felt the need to go to the bathroom. Madrinha Rita, who accompanied him all the time, woke up when she saw him going through the door. She lay in bed waiting for his return, suddenly heard the sound of a fall. She ran to help and it was too late. He was on the floor and already lifeless after a massive heart attack. After that, that rush and the clamor of all who followed him. Our leader, friend and companion is gone for eternity. At this exact moment, the participants of the ritual, oblivious to what was happening on the top floor of the house, ended the work saying “Viva the visitors! ViVa the owner of the hinario!! Viva Saint John the Baptist!"

In the forest, it was Valdete who first learned of what had happened, still on the morning of January 20, a few hours after the denouement. He had spent the night in the ritual of the feast of Saint Sebastian. When he was getting ready to rest from his journey, he turned on the radio on a station in Rio Branco, which reported what had happened, trying to communicate with the residents of Céu do Mapiá.

Alfredo was also in Rio de Janeiro, but that day he did not accompany his father. He went to honor the ritual of São Sebastião in Mauá, where the thriving community led by
Alex Polari, had built a beautiful church. At dawn, the news arrived.

The funeral lasted a week. It started in Rio de Janeiro and ended in Amazonas, there in the village, where it is deposited in a chapel, specially built at the entrance of the temple. The body was embalmed and transported to Céu do Mapiá, arriving on Thursday. Death had occurred in Sunday morning. We stayed in that anxiety of waiting, working on the rice harvest, singing and praying straight to give him a lot of spiritual comfort.

I still remember well the beautiful rainbow that formed in the sky, at the time of the arrival of the helicopter that emerged from the source, breaking under the colored arc. THE
aircraft was narrow and came with open sides. The coffin was crossed with the ends out, forming a flying cross.

We had a long wake. Three more days and two nights for the farewell and the construction of the tomb. Finally, on Saturday, the twenty-seventh of January, his body was buried.

By a coincidence of fate, at the same time and day of this denouement, humanity lost another prestigious religious leader. Also said goodbye to the famous Indian, known as Rajneesh or Osho.

Manchete magazine, at the time the largest and most prestigious illustrated weekly in the country, published a full-page photo. On one side, the Padrinho, and on the other, Osho. The report praised these religious leaders. He commented on the growing prestige of one at the national level and the important influence of the other throughout the world. This was the symbol of a union in the astral that would still greatly benefit the Santo Daime doctrine, especially when it expanded to Europe.

A holy man left earth on the material plane, but his influence lives on. Many people began to dream and to find him in their miração. sometimes people who had never seen him in material, arrived at the Daime ritual and was surprised to recognize him. Padrinho is working on the astral plane, helping many people who are looking for a spiritual path or an encounter with God. Many will still arrive and everyone who recognizes him naturally will have the joy of saying in their hearts: "Blessings, Padrinho, thank you for sharing your love."
Stacks Image 49