On May 11, 2001, a fantastic story began to be written and, in the coming years, it would transform the lives of thousands of people.

 

From a former drug addict to the head of one of the largest churches of the Santo Daime doctrine in the world, André Volpe Neto, or as the heads of Santo Daime churches are called - Padrinho André, was the first in this story to have his life transformed. Thanks to the help of his father, Herlei, André first experienced Santo Daime at Céu Sagrado, in Sorocaba-São Paulo, under the care of the late Padrinho Fernando Dini (1947-2012). With this precious chance that was given to him, he was cured from the long thirteen years of substance abuse.

 

For two years, Padrinho André traveled twice a month from Curitiba to Sorocaba, to attend Daime sessions at Céu Sagrado. An intense desire to express his gratitude grew in his heart. He also wished to work to help save other lives, just as his own was once saved. Alongside his wife, Madrinha Yara, they began writing a new page in the history of the Santo Daime doctrine. Céu da Nova Vida was born.

 

The first sessions took place quite modestly at Padrinho Andre's own house, located in Bairro Alto in Curitiba-Paraná, and were attended only by his wife, Madrinha Yara, his father Herlei and his brothers-in-law, Iluá and Marcos. They occurred twice a month and, after a period of time, due to the increasing demand of participants, were transferred to Madrinha Yara's mother's house. Later, meetings were held at Padrinho Andre's company in Pinhais, Curitiba's metropolitan region, this being the last place before the current headquarters, which opened in November 2006, also located in Pinhais / Paraná.

Until 2007 the preparation of the Daime drink, an approximately week-long ceremony called "feitio", did not take place in the church. The drink was acquired through Céu Sagrado, but from 2007 onwards, Céu da Nova Vida started to produce its own Daime.  The first "feitios" were improvised on the grounds next to the main headquarters in Pinhais, which now serves as a parking lot.

 

With the need to make Daime in a more appropriate place, between 2009/2010, the church took an important step by purchasing land in Campina Grande Sul / Paraná, which is about 35 km from Pinhais. In March 2012, the church acquired another property, this one located in Morretes / Paraná and used for the cultivation of the doctrine's base plants, the Jagube vine and the Rainha leaf.

 

From 2013 until the present day, the "feitio" of Céu da Nova Vida's Daime drink takes place at Campina Grande do Sul farm, which has an adequate structure for the task.

 

Nowadays, the church is very close to self-sufficiency with regards to the cultivation and use of the raw material needed to meet the demand with which it currently works - around 200 liters consumed per month. During the year, the church's fellowship works on an average of 4 periods of "feitio" and, in the words of Padrinho André, the way Daime is prepared in Céu da Nova Vida is “impeccable”.

 

In order to further advance in its objective of facilitating the healing and rescuing of new lives, in May 2010, Céu da Nova Vida initiated the “Emergency Assistance” service - a free daily service that offers Daime for people in at-risk situations, suffering with depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, among others problems. Currently, the Emergency Assistance service assists an average of 10 people per day, and it has shown important and immediate results.

 

The fellowship of Céu da Nova Vida is responsible for this and many other services offered by the church. Voluntarily and through self-managed resources, members of the fellowship perform their duties as a ‘thank you’ to those who once worked to help them. When we delve deeper into the fellowship members' lives, we find stories of deep transformations.

 

Currently the house has 130 "fardados" (name given to members of the church who are committed to the doctrine and wear its traditional uniform during spiritual sessions). They are responsible for assisting a monthly average of 1,500 people who attend to the church's sessions.

 

Furthermore, the church has several projects that are managed by the fellowship, such as the group “Messengers of Love”, whose purpose is to take the message of Santo Daime to people's homes. The church also holds events aimed at the community in general, such as the "Social Action Day", second-hand bazaars, study group of the Spiritist doctrine, writing course, among others.

 

Céu da Nova Vida has been continuously growing and extending its influence through affiliated churches. Céu de Mafra church was the first of them, founded in 2007 in Mafra-Santa Catarina by Padrinho Bruno Cunha and Madrinha Nerly. In 2014, Céu dos Filhos de Deus was born in Rio de Janeiro, founded by Padrinho Guilherme Souza. Support is also provided for Céu do Renascer, a church run by Padrinho Claudinei and Madrinha Estela, located in Balsa Nova, metropolitan region of Curitiba.