Amélia Rodrigues

Mostly known as Amélia Rodrigues, she was, during her lifetime, a notable poet, professor emerita, acclaimed writer, theater scholar, and a true cultural icon of the literary world in Bahia.

Amélia Augusta do Sacramento Rodrigues was born at Fazenda Campos, in the parish of Oliveira dos Campinhos, municipality of Santo Amaro da Purificação, in the state of Bahia, on May 26, 1861. She was the daughter of Felix Rodrigues and D. Maria Raquelina Rodrigues.

Any of her fellow townspeople, no matter how young, is familiar with the life of this extraordinary woman and her efforts to achieve her ideals. She studied with Canon Alexandrino do Prado, and later was a student of Professors Antônio de Araújo Gomes de Sá and Manuel Rodrigues M. de Almeida. Her calling to teaching was innate. In addition, she enrolled in the school run by Professor Cândida Álvares dos Santos and began teaching in Arraial da Lapa.

A few years later, she took a competitive exam for a teaching position in Santo Amaro da Purificação. After passing the exam, she taught there for eight consecutive years.

In 1891, thanks to her dedication to the cause of education, she achieved yet another victory. Given her unparalleled ability as a teacher and the high regard in which she was held by the community, she was transferred to Salvador and assigned to the Central School in the Santo Antonio neighborhood.

One of her students, who was still a teenager in 1905, was selected to teach English using philosopher Spencer’s method. Amélia Rodrigues not only helped him understand that philosopher’s ideas but also supplemented his learning. She told him:

 “Young people need a moral education, which is the fundamental principle of social discipline; without appealing to the heart, to educate is to instill in people the most enduring forces of social order.”

 Amélia Rodrigues’s thinking aligns with that of Fénelon, as expressed in “The Gospel According to Spiritism”, which states at one point: “To educate is to shape people of good character, not merely to instruct them.”

 In the Spiritual Realm, she continued her work of enlightenment and education, based primarily on the Gospel of Jesus, which had been a source of inspiration for many of her works during her earthly life. After passing on, she found in Spirituality – the infinite realm of immortality – greater expansion for her Spirit, which thirsted for knowledge and hungered for love, giving free rein to her noblest aspirations, delving deeper into the Message of Jesus, and, today, joining the circle of Joanna de Ângelis, mentor to Divaldo Pereira Franco. Through the psychography of the selfless medium, he has been producing works of indescribable beauty, addressing a wide variety of topics related to the Gospel – his favorite subject – and drawing uplifting lessons for those who are weary and overwhelmed, comforting and instructing his readers, and has gifted the Spiritist Movement with the following works:

 Até o fim dos tempos

Há flores no caminho

Luz do mundo

O Semeador (infantil)

Pelos caminhos de Jesus

Primícias do reino

Quando voltar a primavera

Trigo de Deus

 When she retired, she found it difficult to just sit around. Her passion for teaching remained alive. Once she had regained her energy, she returned to teaching in an even more remarkable way. On that occasion, she was responsible for founding the “Maria Auxiliadora” Nursery School, which later became “Ação dos Expostos.”

 Making the most of his free time, he devoted himself to literature and journalism, contributing to religious publications, including “O Mensageiro da Fé”. He then wrote for the magazine “A Paladina” and, later, for “A Voz”.

 She wrote several plays, including “Fausta” and “A Natividade.” She also contributed poetry, such as “Religiosa Clarisse” and “Bem me Queres.” In addition, she wrote children’s literature, educational works, and novels.

 Amélia Rodrigues passed away in Salvador at the age of 65 on August 22, 1926, leaving behind an unparalleled legacy of work in the fields of education, literature, and social welfare.