A Spiritist since the age of 19, Nelly Yvonne Berchtold (photo) was born in Langenthal, in the rural region of the canton of Berne, in Switzerland. After living in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, Piauí e S. Paulo) for 35 years, she returned to Berne in 1991.  

She is a doctor and obtained her degree in 1978 at the UERJ university in Rio de Janeiro. She did her training in Infectology and set up an Aids treatment centre in the city of Osasco in 1988. She later specialised in Public Health and, on her return to Switzerland, working initially as a school doctor for the city of Berne. She did a further specialisation in Child Psychiatry and continue to work in the profession.

She is a founding member of the Estesia Spiritist Centre (since September 1991). In the following interview, she speaks about the Spiritist Movement in Switzerland and says that the latest census revealed that 30% of the population there believes in reincarnation.

How and when did you find Spiritism?

When I was 17, I went camping with a Brownies group and for the first time in my life I attended a Catholic mass. That was in the 1960s and the mass was delivered in Latin. After that, I began seeing people through the streets of Rio de Janeiro. They would ask me for directions and seconds later would “disappeared into thin air”. I preferred not to mention it to my parents, I don’t know if out of fear or not.

At the age of 19, I met someone who was going through similar experiences. The only difference is that she saw scary creatures, who aggressively encouraged her to commit suicide. Some of her friends advised her to go to a Spiritist Centre and she took me along. I was able then to watch the treatment that cured the serious case of Spiritual obsession my friend was going through.

Which aspect of Spiritism attracts you the most?

First and foremost, the absence of dogmas. Spiritism accepts questioning and invites people to reflect. It doesn’t impose anything. I have a Protestant neighbour who, like most people of the Germanic tradition, greatly values rationality. She is not a Spiritist but says: I have other beliefs, but this makes sense. I believe that Spiritism “put into retirement” that punishing and judgemental God from the Old Testament.

Tell us more about the Spiritist Movement in Switzerland.

Until 1990, there was only one group, the Centre d’Etudes Spirites de Genève, CESG, founded by the pioneer of Spiritism in the country, professor Teresinha Rey. The Berne Spiritist Centre, later renamed Estesia, was founded in 1991. And in 1992 it was founded it AFFA (Francis of Assisi) centre in Zurich. We then founded the union of Spiritist Centres, UCESS, with these three pioneer groups. The groups that ended up isolating themselves didn’t persevere or got involved in other practices. As far as I know, 9 Spiritist Centres closed their doors between 2004 and 2017. In 2012 we signed a unification pact with the 10 Spiritist centres active then in the country. That was an important moment. In 2018 we celebrated with 20^th anniversary of the foundation of UCESS with events attended by 800 people. There are now 16 Spiritist centres in Switzerland where we gather at least once a week.

How are the links between Switzerland and Brazil?

There are historical and recent links. We had pioneers of Spiritism in Switzerland, like Charles Bonnet. His book,Essai analytique sur les facultés de l'âme had a huge impact on the Protestant preacher Johann Kaspar Lavater, an inspired medium who lived in the 18^th century and wrote letters describing how the former Russian empress Maria Feodorowna found herself after the death of her physical body. Lavater eventually reincarnated in Brazil asEurípedes Barsanulfo. But I don’t believe Spiritism in Switzerland and the rest of Europe would survive if it wasn’t constantly fed by the presence of Brazilian heavyweight speakers, like Divaldo Franco.

What would you like to highlight about your country’s views of spirituality?

For many years, the word “Spiritism” prompted very negative reaction from the Swiss public, which associated it with “evil practices”. Even though most people here are still unaware of the essence of Spiritism, there has been a change in attitude. The latest census in Switzerland shows that 30% of the population believe in reincarnation. Swiss people are very conspicuous about their political and religious beliefs and don’t normally discuss them even with their family members. The fact that so many people believed in reincarnation was so surprising that Le Tempsnewspaper published an article on the front page about it. We can see then that there is room for the development of Spiritism in this country. We must bear in mind that the Swiss people have an interest in philosophy, which helps. We must also consider their humanitarian traditions and their rational approach to all matters.  

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thanks to messages received from the Spiritual Benefactors, we know that we, the Spirits from Switzerland, took part in the religious wars of the past on these lands. There was so much animosity among us that we had to remain separated for five centuries before agreeing to meet again. Before reincarnating again in the 20^th century, we received an invitation to embrace reconciliation and unity, so that we could succeed in the dissemination of the comforting message of Spiritism. We must honour that commitment and bear in mind that, after all, we working for Christ and under his command.