João Maria d'Agostini

João Maria D’Agostini
Giovanni de Agostini in Sant Fe, 1867
Born	Giovanni Maria de Agostini 1801 Sizzano, Piemont, Italy
Died	17 April 1869 Las Cruces, New Mexico, US
Nationality	Italian
Occupation	Wandering preacher, healer

João Maria D’Agostini, or Giovanni Maria de Agostini (1801 – 17 April 1869), was a lay monk of Italian origin who travelled widely in South and North America preaching and healing with herbal remedies. He drew large crowds who thought he was a holy man and could work miracles, although the authorities often viewed him with suspicion. In Brazil his devotees have conflated his identity with two other monks named João Maria. Thousands people each year visit a cave in the state of Paraná, Brazil, where he once lived.

Giovanni de Agostini was born into a noble family in 1801 in Sizzano, Piedmont, Italy. His mother died in 1819, and he made a pilgrimage to Rome, and then to France and Spain. He tried to become a monk, but was unable to accept the secluded life of the monastery. He decided to become an evangelist in America, and arrived in Caracas, Venezuela, in June 1838. He travelled in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and finally Brazil.

Agostini lived in Brazil from 1843 to 1852 under the name of João Maria. He visited the cities of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Curitiba, Florianópolis (then called Desterro) and Porto Alegre. In each place he obtained authorization from the bishop and president of the province to preach the gospel, before leaving for the interior to conduct his missionary work. He dressed in the habit of a Capuchin friar, wore sandals and carried religious objects such as a bible, medals of Our Lady and a staff. He knew the Gospel well, had a good understanding of theology and was fluent in French and Latin. He gave apocalyptic sermons in which he condemned luxury and avarice, warned of the day of judgement and the torments of hell, and spoke of the possibilities of salvation. Like other Capuchins he established cruzeiros or sacred ways where the faithful could make penitential processions to reduce their debt to God.

Agostini made rosaries and wooden crucifixes which he sold for cash or kind to support his mission. He made medicines from herbs, roots, leaves and water from special sources. He gained a reputation as a saint who could perform miracles, and drew large crowds. During his stay in Rio Grande do Sul between 1846 and 1848 he was visited by crowds of patients and others curious to see him, including some who came from Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. 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.