Word: espiritismo
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...course, recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. As is typical of the syncretic Catholicism of Latin America and the Caribbean, in Venezuela the faith openly accommodates non-Christian symbols and beliefs. The most prominent is Maria Lionza, the fertility goddess, proclaimed by the local belief system known as espiritismo. Her statue stands, quite literally, in the middle of one of Caracas' main highways...
...Lionza. Among the others are the Corte Medica, consisting of doctors believed to be responsible for healing miracles. Its best-known figure, Jose Gregorio Hernandez, is currently in the process of being canonized by the Catholic Church. But inclusion of the santos malandros has raised controversy among devotees of espiritismo (also known as santeros). That's because they are regarded as spirits with a "low light," who, in order to gain redemption in death, must undo the harm they did in life...