Of heaven and of earth: Guarabira's memorial to Frei Damiao (Brazil)

The history of Frei Damiao, an Italian Capuchin friar who left an especially rich legacy in the Northeast, is illustrative of the manner in which a variety of Northeastern folk prophets have molded Northeastern Brazilian culture through their missionary work. Celebrated as a mystic prophet and miracle worker during his life, Frei Damiao was declared a saint upon his death in 1997, and today his teachings still influence Northeast Brazil's popular religious practice. Since his passing, many Northeastern Brazilian cities have built monuments to honor Frei Damiao. The largest of these monuments, a one hundred and twelve feet high statue of the friar, stands in the town of Guarabira in the Northeastern state of Paraiba. While this statue commemorates Damiao's mission, as a pilgrimage destination it also celebrates many of the Northeast's long-standing religious, economic, and political traditions. By exploring Frei Damiao's legacy through the history of his statue in Guarabira, one can see how Frei Damiao's statue extends the friar's mission to alleviate the temporal and spiritual concerns of those that pilgrimage by representing the temporal and spiritual interests of the Northeast Brazilian region and its people.