João Teixeira de Faria

João Teixeira de Faria was born June 24, 1942, in Cachoeira da Fumaça, Goiás, Brazil. He had minimal formal education and claimed to have experienced his first spiritual healing episode at age 16. In the 1970s he established the Casa de Dom Inácio de Loyola in the small town of Abadiânia, Goiás, which grew into an internationally known spiritual healing center. Faria claimed to 'incorporate' the spirits of deceased physicians and holy figures including King Solomon and St. Ignatius of Loyola, and in this state to perform physical interventions — including visible surgical scraping of eyes, insertion of forceps into nasal passages, and surface incisions — on willing patients.

At the height of his fame the Casa attracted an estimated 10,000–30,000 visitors per month from across South America, Europe, and North America. Many were people who had received terminal diagnoses and exhausted conventional medical options. He was featured sympathetically on Oprah Winfrey's programs, enormously amplifying his global reach and credibility. Prominent figures including Shirley MacLaine publicly endorsed him.

Faria's empire collapsed in December 2018 when hundreds of women, many of whom had traveled to Abadiânia for healing, came forward with accusations of sexual assault. The accusations escalated rapidly; more than 600 women ultimately accused him of abuse, alleging that he used the isolation and spiritual submission of healing sessions to assault patients. Faria turned himself in to Brazilian authorities in December 2018.

He was convicted in four separate proceedings. The first verdict in December 2019 sentenced him to 19 years and four months for the assault of four women. A second verdict in January 2020 added 40 years for five additional victims. In September 2023 a Goiás state court added another 118 years. His total nominal sentence exceeds 489 years, though Brazilian law caps actual imprisonment at 40 years — meaning he will spend the rest of his life incarcerated. As of 2024 he is held at the Aparecida de Goiânia Complex in Goiás state and has denied all allegations.

“Performs spiritual surgeries — including nasal probings, eye scrapings, and incisions — that cure terminal illnesses without medical training”

Faria had no medical training. Performing incisions and probings without sterile technique or anesthesia poses direct infection and injury risk. No controlled documentation of cures exists. Many patients traveled from around the world and delayed or abandoned evidence-based treatment.

“Acts as a vessel for healing spirits of deceased physicians including King Solomon”

No mechanism for spirit incorporation exists in evidence-based medicine or science. The claim was used to attract desperately ill patients who had exhausted conventional options.

“Spiritual healing sessions are safe and spiritually necessary”

Hundreds of women testified that Faria exploited the isolated, submissive context of spiritual healing sessions to commit sexual assault. Brazilian courts convicted him on multiple counts across multiple trials.