Eclesia Católica Cristiana
The Eclesia Católica Cristiana is a Spanish-speaking Spiritualist
church operating in the Bronx, New York. It was founded
in 1956 as the Spiritualist Christian Church by Delfin Roman
Cardona (b. 1918). The church was reorganized and renamed
in 1969 to keep down any confusion between it and other Spiritualist
centers. Cardona was born and raised in Puerto Rico.
Raised a Roman Catholic, he was introduced to Spiritualism
in his teens and gained some renown on the island because of
his healing abilities. After moving to the United States, he
founded the church to combine Roman Catholic and Spiritualist
emphases. The Roman Catholic element is most evident in
the development of a hierarchy that includes cardinals, bishops,
and lay members.
Spiritualism in Puerto Rico derived from Brazil, which in
turn derived its Spiritualist beliefs from the French spiritism
of Allan Kardec, differentiated by its early acceptance of reincarnation.
It has added elements of science (parapsychology)
and Theosophy to create what it considers to be universal
Christianity. The resulting synthesis of thought, termed the
Delfinist Thought, places great emphasis on the virtues of love,
comprehension, compassion, justice, humility, and faith.
Cardona has taught that women and men are equals in the
spiritual as in the material world. Following the example of ancient
Atlantis and the ancient Druids, the church ordains females
and welcomes them into the bishopric. The first woman
cardinal, Rev. Mother Olga Roman, was elevated in 1974
