Guido Vidal França Schäffer was the son of Guido Manoel Vidal Schäffer and Maria Nazareth França Schäffer. His father is a doctor and his mother is a member of the Good Shepherd Community. Guido grew up in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, where he learned to enjoy the beach and surfing. He studied Medicine at the Faculty Technical Educational Souza Marques. Made residence and later joined the medical staff of the 4th and 20th Wards of the Holy House of Mercy of Rio. He decided to become a general practitioner, specialty that allowed him to assess the patient as a whole. During his academic education he was also dedicated to care for HIV patients, at the Evandro Chagas Hospital. Remembered for his knowledge of the Word of God and for the importance he gave to the sacraments and the use of the charisms of the Holy Spirit, Guido founded several prayer groups and held many lectures. In 1999, during a retreat at the Canção Nova Community, Guido heard a priest preaching the following passage: " Never turn your face from the poor and God will never turn his from you”. At that moment he reflected how many times he had looked away from the poor. He asked God for forgiveness and said, "Jesus, help me take care of the poor." A week later he met the sisters of the order founded by Mother Teresa, whose mission is the care for the poor. He realized that God had heard his request and was giving him the direction he wanted for his medicine. He offered his work to the sisters of charity and started to meet the homeless on the streets. He organized the volunteers inviting other doctors from the Holy House of Mercy and the youth of the prayer group. When reading the book "The brother of Assisi", by Ignatius Larrañaga, he felt called to the priesthood. Guido fulfilled the first years of preparation at the Institute of Philosophy and Theology of the Monastery of Saint Benedict of Rio de Janeiro. As an external student he conciliated the preparatory studies for the priesthood with his volunteer medical work and the preaching of God's Word. In 2008, he joined the Saint Joseph Seminary.
Death
On May 1, 2009, at thirty-four years old, Guido died, victim of an injury to the neck that caused unconsciousness and drowning while surfing at the Recreio dos Bandeirantes beach, Rio de Janeiro. The funeral mass with the body present, held the next day, chaired by the Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro - now Cardinal -. Dom Orani João Tempesta, O. Cist, in the parish of Our Lady of Copacabana, called the attention of all that attended it. The church, which was packed with about 1700 people from all locations and social classes, was attended by approximately seventy priests and three bishops. Before the coffin closed at the end of the Mass, Archbishop Orani said: "This church so full shows me how this young man was a good shepherd, and as I know of his desire to become a priest, I will put the stole in his hands. " The bishop then came down the presbytery and placed the stole in Guido’s hands, and he was buried with it.
Beatification process
After his death, soon reports of cures started to appear, attributed to the intercession of the young doctor, seminarian and surfer. On January 17, 2015, with permission from the Vatican, the process of beatification and canonization was initiated, by the Cardinal Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro - Dom Orani João Tempesta. At this stage, Guido Schäffer received the title “Servant of God”.
