João Maria (monk)

João Maria
Died	1869, 1908, 1912
Nationality	Italian Syrian Brazilian
Occupation	Lay monks
Known for	Apocalyptic preaching Herbal cures Peasants' revolt

João Maria was the name given to three lay monks who were in turn active in southern Brazil during the second half of the 19th century and early 20th century, although two originally had other names and the third was only called João Maria after his death. They were all ascetic wanderers and preachers who healed with herbs. The third led a peasant revolt in 1912. Their followers think they were the same person in different incarnations, a saint. The Monge State Park maintains a cave where the first monk once lived, visited by thousands of pilgrims annually.

The first João Maria was born in Piemont, Italy. As a young man he entered the seminary in Rome, but left before being ordained priest. He wandered in Europe, then came to South America where he travelled in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and finally Brazil. There are records from 1844 of João Maria going from Pará to Rio de Janeiro, where he became famous as a healer and counselor. He moved to Sorocaba and continued to practice medicine and give advice.

João Maria left the city of São Paulo and disappeared for a while before showing up in Rio Grande do Sul. Thousands of people came to him at Cerro Campestre, in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, drawn by word of the miraculous power of his waters. The authorities of Rio Grande do Sul analyzed the water and found it was potable but no different from any other water. He then continued through Santa Catarina and Paraná, where he lived in a cave near Lapa in 1847. There he performed marriages, baptisms, healings and gave blessings to the local people. João Maria was not a revolutionary, but tried to improve the condition of the peasants. He organized processions, built chapels, blessed cattle and baptized children. He cared for the sick, and his herbal teas became famous.

In 1848 João Maria was deported to Santa Catarina, then to Rio de Janeiro, where he was lost from sight for a while. He reappeared in Buenos Aires in 1853 and walked through Bolivia and all of south and central America until 1861, arriving in New Mexico in the United States in 1862, where he lived in the mountains. He was assassinated there on 17 April 1869 at the age of 69. His tomb may be seen in New Mexico.

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Wikipedia