From Puerto Rico to Rochester, New York: International Spiritualism in 1948

A very niche interest of mine is the overlap between the traditions of Spiritualism, Spiritism, and Espiritismo. Part of that comes from my love of history, and part of it comes from the fact that my own spiritual path exists somewhere at the intersection of these traditions. Because of that, I always feel a sense of excitement whenever I discover people in the past who also moved within that shared space.

Historical studies of Spiritualism are often limited in scope. Many academic works focus on one narrow point of contact, Spiritualism and social reform, Spiritualism and gender, Spiritualism and politics, and so on. There are also historians who are more sympathetic to Spiritualism, and sometimes even practitioners themselves, but they often focus only on their own communities and rarely step back to look at the broader international story.

My own interests lie in the full spectrum of Spiritualist history. The more I look into different groups, in different countries, and across different decades, the more I see just how interconnected Spiritualists around the world have always been. They may not have been systematic historians, but they did not leave us with nothing. They left behind hundreds of newspapers, journals, pamphlets, letters, and reports spanning generations. The challenge is simply that very few people seem willing to sift through all that material.

I’ve been doing some of that sifting for a while now, and there are countless things I could write about. But I wanted to begin with something especially close to my heart.

Something I think few people realize is how connected Spiritualists have been across borders for well over a century. From the 1930s through the 1950s and continuing into the present, there are many examples of Spiritualists from different countries and traditions communicating with one another, supporting each other, learning from one another’s gifts, sharing knowledge, and celebrating their common ideals.

What particularly fascinates me are the many instances of correspondence, cooperation, and shared events between mostly English speaking American Spiritualists and communities of Espiritistas throughout Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, Argentina, and beyond. These relationships often included international travel and formal representation.

One example came to me recently through a friend, and it is especially meaningful because it connects directly to my own interest in the history of Spiritualism in Rochester, New York.

In July of 1948, Spiritualists in Rochester, New York (which was demolished in 1969) hosted an international convention celebrating the World Centennial of Modern Spiritualism. More than three hundred Spiritualist leaders gathered in the city for services, lectures, meetings, and ceremonies connected to the centennial observances. Much of the activity centered around the Seneca Hotel in downtown Rochester, where lectures and Spiritualist church services were held before attendees traveled out to Hydesville, the birthplace of Modern Spiritualism, for commemorative events and dedication ceremonies.

Rev. John & Rev. Helen Gerling

Several important Spiritualist leaders were involved in organizing and hosting the celebration, especially Rev. Helen and John Gerling of the Psychic Science Temple in Rochester, part of the Universal Psychic Science denomination founded by the Gerlings themselves. Rev. Helen Gerling in particular seems to have been deeply motivated by international Spiritualist cooperation and by the idea of building connections between Spiritualists around the world. That spirit of international fellowship shaped much of the convention itself.

One of the international delegates attending these events was Víctor Cerezo Butler of Puerto Rico, who came to Rochester as an official representative of the C.E.P.A. (Confederación Espiritista Panamericana). Spanish language reports in Cosmos described him giving invocations, presenting on the mission and ideals of the CEPA, participating in healing mediumship demonstrations, and taking part in sessions focused on future Pan American cooperation. Meanwhile, the English language Psychic Observer introduced him to American readers as a Puerto Rican medium and representative of the Pan American Spiritualist Federation.

The brief biographical sketch published at the time makes him an even more fascinating figure. Butler was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, on June 15, 1919. He was described as a lecturer and mental medium, and held a B.A. degree from the College of Education at the University of Puerto Rico. Because of his interest in psychic research, he became General Secretary of the First Spiritualist Congress of Puerto Rico and later served as Co-Delegate to the Pan American Spiritualist Congress in Buenos Aires. He had also attended a Spiritualist congress in Rio de Janeiro and became an active representative of the CEPA in Puerto Rico and throughout Central America. The article also notes that in Puerto Rico he was known by the nickname “The Prophetic Angel” because of his exceptional mediumistic abilities

During the Rochester convention, Butler participated directly in some of the most historically symbolic moments of the celebration. On July 4th, attendees traveled from the Seneca Hotel to Hydesville, where ceremonies were held at the Fox Memorial. Later, at Hydesville Spiritualist Camp, a barn from the original Hyde family farm had been converted into a four hundred seat auditorium for the dedication of the camp grounds. Spiritualists from around the United States and abroad attended the event. According to reports in Cosmos, Butler delivered the invocation during the dedication ceremony of the Hydesville Assembly. The same reports describe him participating in mediumistic sessions, doctrinal lectures, and discussions concerning future Pan American Spiritualist relations.

Today, Hydesville Spiritualist Camp itself no longer exists. However, the Hydesville Memorial still remains as Hydesville Memorial Park, preserving at least part of the landscape connected to the origins of Modern Spiritualism and to gatherings like the 1948 centennial celebration.

What moves me most about this moment is what it represents. Here, in Rochester, the symbolic birthplace of Modern Spiritualism, we find Spiritualists and Espiritistas meeting, honoring one another, and imagining a shared future. Figures like Helen Gerling and Víctor Cerezo Butler were not merely attending ceremonies; they were actively building relationships between Spiritualist communities across languages, cultures, and national borders.

It is a reminder that these traditions were never as isolated as people sometimes assume. They have long existed in conversation with one another, crossing borders in ways that deserve to be remembered.