SANTOS, Maria Dalvani Rodrigues dos.
Resumen:
This research aimed to problematize Spiritism, knowing its origin and expansion, focusing on a
biographical analysis of the medium Francisco Cândido Xavier, popularly known as Chico
Xavier. In the analysis, it was tried to make a connection between the social actor and the
medium, trying to understand the factors related to the Spiritism that preceded Chico Xavier and
how the medium gained so much notoriety with the mediumship. This process was carried out
from the reading and analysis of two written biographies about the medium, which are: "The
Man Who Spoke with Spirits" by author Luis Eduardo de Souza and "The Lives of Chico
Xavier" by author Marcel Souto Maior. When comparing the two works, it is intended to show
how two different subjects developed their constructions about the same character; one being a
religious and the other a researcher, seeking to understand the motives that lead people to write
biographies about Chico Xavier. For this to be better detailed, in addition to the two biographies,
we seek the theoretical contributions of Pierre Bourdieu and Giovanni Levi bringing concepts of
biography, as well as Michel de Certeau, showing the importance of the social place within the
research. Thus, we tried to understand the different versions presented by each of the biographers
in question, in order to analyze Chico Xavier as a historical man.
