On International Surfing Day, we remember the life and story of Venerable Guido Schäffer, the young doctor and seminarian who lost his life off the coast of Rio de Janeiro before he could fulfill his desire to be ordained a priest and while doing what he loved most. I liked to surf among the waves.
Known as the “surfer angel”, Schäffer was born on May 22, 1974 in Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). From a very young age he knew that he wanted to have a life of faith due mainly to the education that his parents, Guido Manoel Vidal Schäffer and Maria Nazareth França Schäffer, instilled in him.
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Following in his father’s footsteps, he graduated in medicine in 1998 and worked at the “Santa Casa da Misericórdia” hospital in Rio de Janeiro, where he assisted patients with AIDS (HIV).
His only concern: saving souls
He soon discovered his mission of caring for the poorest thanks to the Missionary Sisters of Charity of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, with whom he collaborated as a volunteer doctor assisting the marginalized and poor in the Brazilian favelas.
One of the missionaries closest to Schäffer wrote: “Her only concern was saving souls. He led everyone to a personal meeting with Christ. That’s why he spared no effort. In fact, his entire conversation was with Him and directed at Him. He did not miss the opportunity to proclaim it, whether in words or by his own example.”
Although he was engaged to his girlfriend and thought he had a vocation for marriage, he took advantage of every opportunity to talk to young people about God. He did it mostly in the sea, while he practiced his favorite sport, surfing.
Enter the seminar
Before turning 30, he founded a prayer group called “Fire of the Holy Spirit”, with the help of priest Luis Peres Mereira da Silva, known to everyone as Father Jorjão.
Two events marked his life: the Meeting of Families on the occasion of the visit of Saint John Paul II to Rio de Janeiro in 1997 and a trip to Europe for the beatification of the Brazilian protomartyrs. These experiences and a book about the life of Saint Francis of Assisi helped him understand that the Lord was calling him to be a priest.
Between 2002 and 2007 he studied Philosophy and Theology at the Institute of Philosophy and Theology of the Monastery of San Benedetto in Rio de Janeiro.
Maria’s surfers
He entered the Seminary of San José in 2008. During those years, his companions highlighted his vocation to evangelize young people, his simple style of prayer and a great love for the Eucharist.
In fact, he founded the “Surfers of Mary” prayer group, inviting young surfers to pray the rosary on the beach before practicing this sport.
On more than one occasion he had told his companions that he would like to go to heaven in the place where he felt the presence of God most: the sea. And so it was, on May 1, 2009, at the age of 34, he lost his life after drowning after a surfboard hit his neck.
Guido died with a great reputation for holiness and his testimony remained very alive during the following years, especially in the poorest places in Rio. In 2018, the beach playground from Rio de Janeiro, where she lost her life, was officially baptized with her name as a tribute.
In May 2014, Cardinal Orani João Tempesta, Archbishop of this Brazilian city, requested the study on the heroic nature of her virtues after several young people mentioned “miracles” and favors attributed to her intercession.
The postulator in charge of his canonization process was Cardinal Angelo Amato, the then prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (now the Dicastery).
On May 28, 2023, Pope Francis declared him Venerable. The Church must now approve a miracle attributed to his intercession before he can be beatified.
The example of the “near saints”
Mons. Alberto Royo Mejía, promoter of the faith in the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, highlighted in conversation with ACI Prensa the importance of today’s young people being able to count on current and close figures to serve as an example on their path to holiness.
For Bishop Royo, Guido Schäffer “is a very close figure, a figure who can greatly attract young people.”
He stressed that the life of the so-called “surfer angel” always revolved around Jesus Christ, which is why “it speaks to us of a closeness and possible holiness.”
The also doctor in Canon Law and priest of the diocese of Getafe (Madrid), pointed out: “We were used to seeing the saints in paintings; Later we began to see the saints in black and white photographs, then in color, and now we even see them on YouTube, on video, we have current videos of the saints.”
“That is fundamental for people today, because the traditional classic models are always valid, but people need something a little closer,” he said.
Almudena Martínez-Bordiú
I am a graduate in Journalism and Advertising from the CEU San Pablo University in Madrid. Specialized in religious information in Spain since 2015. I have been a senior correspondent for ACI Prensa and EWTN Noticias in the Vatican for two years and I am currently a European correspondent based in Spain.