Mestre Monteiro turns 91 years old – a joyful day in the UDV

| March 30th, 2025

The birthday of a Mestre of the Origin is a reason for us, the irmandade of the Beneficent Spiritist Center União do Vegetal, to feel joy because it is through the existence of these Mestres that we get to know a little more about our guide, Mestre Gabriel, and the teachings that he left for us. Today, March 30th, we commemorate the birth of the oldest of them, Raimundo Monteiro de Souza, Mestre Monteiro, who is celebrating his 91st birthday. An Oriental Counselor, always with his courteous and peaceful manner, he is one of the most important people in the União, having been the first General Representative Mestre to assume the place after Mestre Gabriel passed away, in addition to having played a fundamental role during crucial moments of our institution.

To mark this day, the UDV Blog presents an extract of an interview he gave to the Department of Memory and Communication of Núcleo Serenita (Salvador-BA, 4th Region), at the beginning of March, telling a little about his arrival to the União do Vegetal.

To Mestre Monteiro, we hope that God continues blessing him with health and good disposition so he can follow his mission, teaching, counseling and orienting all those in need! Happiness to you, professor Raimundo!

“I attended the Catholic Church. I have a sister that is religious, a nun, and I learned many things in the church, but I felt that I needed something more. Then I studied at a Catholic school, I helped a lot at mass, as an altar boy. When I left school, I traveled around, I frequented the Umbanda temple as an observer to see if I could find what I still needed to know more about.

At that time in Rondônia, there were two large ice cream machines, which were rare to have there in that place at that time. I worked for the government and also owned one of the machines, and I had someone responsible for working it. One day I left work, I worked at the Rondônia City Hall, and I went to the place where my machine was. And then a man showed up. José Walter is his nickname, but his full name is José Silva de Figueiredo Martins. He was from Paraíba, but he knew much of Brazil because he had already been a sales representative for a company, he traveled a lot, at the time we called him a traveling salesman. So, we began talking and he said: I’ve already travelled throughout all of Brazil, I lived in São Paulo, I’ve gotten to know beautiful spiritist centers, but I’ve never found as beautiful of a center like the one I found here in Porto Velho. So, I asked him which one it was. He said: there is a man here named José Gabriel da Costa, also known as Mestre Gabriel, and he distributes a tea, holds a Session, and in the Session you astrally travel. When he mentioned ‘astral travel’, this called my attention a lot, and I said: man, I need to meet this guy, I want to find something that makes me believe, that shakes me up enough to believe. And he said: look, it’s twice a week, Thursday and Saturday.

And so, we set a place to meet, and that day five people went with me. The União didn’t have anything, it was just starting, it was in the suburbs of Porto Velho. There was Only Mestre Gabriel’s small and humble home. We entered the house, a hut covered with straw, it had one table approximately 6.5 feet long, and another a little less than 6 feet long, facing each other, and he [Mestre Gabriel] got up from there and came over. When he greeted us, I looked and noticed something different about him. At the time, I was teaching primary school, so I was introduced to him as a professor, and the others who went with me were also introduced to him. There were maybe 12 people. He served the Vegetal and the 12 of us drank. The larger table was for the people that had arrived before me, and the smaller table was for the newcomers, and he sat there in the middle. And so, he distributed the Vegetal, there was no Cadre of Mestres yet, the only Mestre was him, Mestre Gabriel. Hilton picked up the Internal Rule, with 16 articles, and read it like it is read today. And he, himself, made the explanation, a review of what he had just read. We waited and the time arrived when the Mestre began to open the works, in the way that we do today.

When he said, ‘se prepare pra seguir’ (‘prepare yourself to follow’) — the guy had said that you travelled astrally —, I sat up in my seat at the table because I was ready, I wanted to find something to believe in. I wasn’t scared, on the contrary, I felt really well. To make a long story short, I travelled astrally just like he told me I would. And this moment was so strong that I didn’t perceive, for me, the Session lasted a few minutes. I came to and he [Mestre Gabriel] was already bidding farewell. And he said to me, ‘professor, how went the burracheira?’ ‘It was awesome, Mestre.’ ‘Then come back’, he said. It was Wednesday, September 4th, 1966. On Saturday, I associated. I didn’t associate thinking I was going to be a leader in the União, I associated because I was seeking to find many answers for my consciousness, and I knew that there, on that day, I saw clearly that that man had everything to give me that I was searching for. And today, I’ve been in the União 60 years. (…) Now I am turning 91 years old, and by the grace of God I am still directing Sessions. And it is the Mestre that is giving me this opportunity, the strength to do it.”

Contributors::


Luisa Torreão Lasserre is a member of the Body of Counsel of Núcleo Apuí (Lauro de Freitas, BA – 4th Region) and is the adjunct-director of the Department of Memory and Communication of the General Directorate;

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Ênio Cordeiro is a member of the Cadre of Mestres of Núcleo Coração de Maria (Coração de Maria – BA, 4th Region) and is the Regional Coordinator of the DMC of the 4th Region;

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Renata Flores Saar is a member of the Body of Counsel of Núcleo Vitória (Barra do Choça, BA – 4th Region) and is the 1st Secretary of the Department of Memory and Communication of the General Directorate.

Our thanks to the Department of Memory and Communication of Núcleo Serenita (Salvador-BA, 4th Region) for the interview held with Mestre Monteiro and for making the content available.