Wednesday’s Wise Woman … Madre Cristina

Madre Cristina [born Celia Sodre Doria] was a Mother Superior of St Augustine; a catholic religious order in Brazil.  She was also a teacher, psychologist and director  and founder of the Institute of Sapiente (seat of wisdom) in Sao Paulo. Celia was  active in the resistance of military rule and the organisation of social movements in the 1960s.
Celia was influenced by father who was lawyer, a militant catholic and grounded in left wing politics.  So from a young age she was aware of social injustice and equality.
She was able to board at exclusive girl’s schools; later specialising in pedagogy and philosophy.
During this time she took religious orders and become Mother Christine and taught young adults.
In 1954 she obtained a doctorate in psychology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo. The following year, to deepen her understanding of Freud she studied Psychoanalysis at the Sorbonne in Paris.
Back in Brazil in 1958, with her new found ideals of political and social transformation she helped to  organise the Youth Catholic University that was becoming prominent in the political arena lead by a sociologist called Herbert de Souza.
While Mother Cristina was  politically active at this time she did not neglect her commitment to her work as a psychotherapist and teacher. She pioneered different aspects of psychotherapy.  Also attending conferences and writing papers and books,   She formed a clinic of psychoanalysis one of the first in the country and made every effort to treat even the poorest patients.
During the 1960s when the military dictatorship was most difficult Mother Cristina housed  victims of political persecution.  In the building that had now become the headquarters of the National Students Union lead by Jose Serra; an Engineering student.
Mother Cristina become more alienated from the police and the conservative sector of the church.
Mother Cristina’s underground organisation was never compromised even though some political prisoners were captured and tortured. The communist nun as she was called was never arrested or suffered anything more serious than repeated death threats.
In 1977 the Seat of Wisdom founded an institute in Sao Paulo that offered courses pedagogy, psychology and philosophy.  However it was many a forum for discussion into social equality and the creation of movements that addressed the problems faced by the landless and displaced indigenous peoples.
I have gleaned this information from Portuguese text translated in Google; so it is very poor quality.  However, Madre Cristine was a wise woman and I have not done her justice;  for that I apologise.  If you can add to my poor attempt I will be grateful.  For instance I have no knowledge of her after 1977 and know not how she was recognised after the fall of the dictatorship. I would welcome feedback and more information of this very wise woman.