Maria Dirce Antunes Jacintho (photo) is the widow of the renowned author, Roque Jacintho, who was also a journalist and accounted and published more than 130 books, including the world’s first Spiritist book for children. She was born in the Sorocaba and lives in Diadema, both cities in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. She has worked as a volunteer primary teacher and is a member of the Amor e Esperança (Love and Hope) Spiritist Centre.

She tells us in the following interview that she became a Spiritist several years after getting married and thanks to the influence and hard work carried out by her husband.

When and how did you meet Roque Jacintho?

I met Roque at the newspaper where he worked in the city of Sorocaba, when I went there with my sister at my father’s request to pay for the monthly subscription.

Was he already a Spiritist?

Roque was not a Catholic, even though he came from a Catholic family. He was always interested in Spiritism and wrote his first Spiritist poem at the age of 11. I came from a devout Catholic family and followed all the rituals of the Church. I became a Spiritist four years after getting married with Roque, who by then was already a Spiritist. Together we had a daughter (Silvia Regina), two grandchildren (Alexandre and Fabíola) and a great-grandson (Carlos Eduardo).

How was Roque’s involvement with the Spiritist Teachings?

Roque had a great deal of care, respect and loyalty to the Spiritist Teachings, to the point that he put into practice what he wrote about and put charity at the centre of his life. Spiritism meant a lot in Roque’s life: he used to say that he wanted to serve God.

How many books did he publish? And which one of them meant the most to you?

Roque published more than 130 books and I cannot really pick one, as he wrote each one of them with great love, care and dedication. One of his works was the first Spiritist book for children published in the world, “O Lobo Mau Reencarnado,” (“Big Wolf Reincarnated”). It is on its third edition, published by Luz no Lar (Light in the Home) printing house. 

Tell us about Luz no Lar publishers.

Luz no Lar was a landmark in our lives, which we reached through very hard work. But it provided us with very firm ground from the beginning, with the publication of the first Spiritist book for children. The two of us took a big chance when we bought a printing house without any previous experience in this area. We borrowed a lot of money at the time, but we were blessed with the opportunity perhaps of paying back a big debt with God, especially me…

As a wife, how would you describe your husband’s personality?

A great human being, hard working, a friend and a companion.

What was his view of Spiritism?

Roque was and I am sure he continues to be a great champion of Spiritism. He was always very demanding with the standards of Spiritist books. He never accepted baseless information that was often sent to him. In his opinion, the books of Allan Kardec should never be dismissed, as they contain the Truth of Spiritism and no one else, apart from Francisco Cândido Xavier, could follow up his work. Roque lived to write for the children and young people and to write guidelines to help disseminate the Gospel.

Is there any special event or memory that you would like to share with the public?

Our dear Chico Xavier used to tell Roque that the Spirit of the great Brazilian writer, Monteiro Lobato, was relying on him to bring from the Spirits World children’s stories. Inspired by that, Roque embraced that task with lots of love and tenderness. That is how we had the idea of founding Luz no Lar.

What are your strongest memories of your marital life with Roque?

Everything was important, as Roque was a great companion, father and friend.

Leave us with your final thoughts.