A "Franciscan" Umbanda in Southern Brazil in the First Half of the Twentieth Century: The Saint Francisco de Assis Spiritist Shelter

In the 1930s, a new manifestation of the religious, mediumistic, and Afro-Brazilian tradition appeared in Porto Alegre, the capital of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul: the St. Francisco de Assis Spiritist Shelter. The founding of the St. Francisco de Assis Spiritist Shelter as the headquarters of the Congregation of the Spiritist Franciscans of Umbanda integrated the process of emergence and consolidation of Umbanda in the religious landscape of Rio Grande do Sul during the first half of the twentieth century. The Congregation of Spiritist Franciscans of Umbanda highlighted the experiences and religious memory of its founder, Laudelino Manoel de Souza Gomes. This black Brazilian naval officer, born a year after the end of slavery in Brazil, built an extremely rich religious practice. It highlighted many influences from his travels as a navy telegraphist, a position that led him to various regions of Brazil and, according to his followers, various foreign countries. The Congregation was conceived from two basic influences: the nascent Umbanda and the Third Orders of St. Francis. Thus, it presents a varied pantheon that, in addition to Saint Francis of Assis, draws from the traditional presence in Umbanda of enslaved black ancestors and natives and the worship of Catholic bishops.