A message from Padrinho Alex Polari 

*A legacy of love and gentleness in the expansion of Santo Daime*

Our beloved Madrinha, Patron and Counselor Rita Gregório made her passage to the spiritual plane on the auspicious day, April 29, in the strength of the full moon of Vesak, when the birth, Enlightenment and the passage of Sidharta Gautama, the Buddha, are celebrated.

To talk about this loss of our dear Matriarch, we need to take into account, first of all, her importance for the expansion of our Doctrine of the Santo Daime. It was a role she had to assume after the passing of her dear “Bastião”, as she affectionately called him, our much-missed Padrinho Sebastião, patron of this mission. And she fulfilled this role with great dedication and humility, which, in fact, was her main characteristic in dealing with all those who sought her out in search for advice, consolation and some spiritual comfort. Humility tempered with a lot of devotion, wisdom and compassion.

And more, even when she needed to be more strict with someone, she always balanced it with some cheerful, humorous and disarming remarks. And so, everyone left these conversations lighter. Through this, little by little, she became a reference point of the female empowerment of our Doctrine - something which had already been foretold by Padrinho Sebastião, who always made a point of highlighting the important role of women in the “coming times” that today are already part of our present, here and now.

Madrinha Rita had a hard life in the Açu Valley (RN), but she always told us how her childhood memories were good ones. She went with her family to live the no less difficult life of the Amazonian rubber plantations, where she met and married Sebastião Mota. At the end of the late 1950’s, they moved to Rio Branco, and it was there, with the beginning of work at Colônia Cinco Mil, that little by little she became the Madrinha Rita we know today. A loving counselor who, until the end of her hundred years of life, received with open arms and blessed an endless pilgrimage of godchildren from all over the world.

With advancing age and difficulty with mobility, she converted the balcony of her house into a true sanctuary, where prayers and spiritual work unfolded almost continuously. It is important to highlight the selfless role of her sons, daughters, companions, and caregivers who dedicated themselves day after day so that we could enjoy her presence and her guidence.

These daily rosaries and prayers were of great importance. They were like a beacon radiating peace and firmness to the entire Brotherhood/sisterhood and a safe harbor of welcome for those who were facing difficulties in spiritual passages or in their coexistence in the community.

The absence of her physical presence will certainly be felt now by all of us. Perhaps a strange feeling of emptiness will be perceived by those who pass by the yard of their house at the time of Prayer and cannot see her there anymore. But surely this aura of holiness of our Madrinha will continue to exist and be felt in any case. Not only there, inside the Cathedral of the Queen of the Forest, but in all our churches around the world.

The beautiful hinario, Lua Branca, will bring more and more new understandings and meanings from its simple, humble and deep words, which touch our hearts. The love and gentleness that she so well knew how to expand for all will certainly bear fruit in us, so that later it may be (re)distributed, because this is the rule that the hymn tells us: so that divine love continues to circulate in our currents and can bring about the healings and miracles for which it is destined.

In this sacred and profound moment that leads us to the greatest of all the mysteries of existence, we can only give thanks for all the love we received from our Madrinha while she was still alive, and for which we will certainly continue to receive in a different way in our hearts, from wherever it may come.

Gratitude, Madrinha Rita! May your little boat be ready to begin this happy journey. Sadness will remain in us only for a moment. And we will always be able to evoke your crystal-clear smile, your cheerful and loving presence in our memories.

In the hymn that the Madrinha dedicated to me, she says she will tell her story from when it began. From now on we will tell you not how this story ended, but how it starts again: with love, longing and gratitude. For she will remain with us forever.

We pay tribute to our Centenary Madrinha and send our condolences to all her family, with wishes of peace, union and consolation to all our Brotherhood/Sisterhood.