Reinert, Ludgero (1914–1999)

Ludgero Reinert, pastor and teacher, was born March 26, 1914, in the city of Tijucas, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. He was the second of 17 children born to Manoel Amaro Reinert and Maria Isidória Reis. Due to his parents’ financial difficulties, he was raised by his maternal grandfather, Domingos Reis.¹

Reinert completed primary education in his hometown in 1927.² By the time of his adolescence he worked at his grandfather’s grocery store, where at 16 years of age he was visited by a man who told him about Brazil College (now UNASP-SP), located in São Paulo city. He was especially impressed by the fact that this Adventist boarding school had a plan for poor people to work and, by this means, pay for their studies. Thus, Reinert entered high school there and was introduced to the Adventist faith by Pastor George B. Taylor. He was baptized in 1935³ and, still as a student, he shared the Adventist message with his family. This resulted in the organization of the Adventist Church of Ribanceira, state of Santa Catarina.⁴ Later he also graduated from the theology course.⁵

In 1936 he began denominational work as a teacher at the Cornélio Procópio Adventist School, state of Paraná, where he was the director for more than two years.⁶ In 1939 he worked as a teacher at the Adventist school in the region of Castro, also in Paraná,⁷ and then in the city of Presidente Venceslau, state of São Paulo.⁸ During this time he met Lourdes Tavares (1913-2002), whom he married on December 24, 1940, in Rio Claro, state of São Paulo. The couple had two children: Lourdes Marci (1946-) and Davi Jomar (1950-). His wife was also a teacher and worked at the same schools as Ludgero.⁹

After the wedding, Ludgero was called to be pastor of the Lages church, state of Santa Catarina, where he was also a school teacher.¹⁰ Between 1941 and 1942, he pastored a church and taught school in the rural area of Bom Retiro, state of Santa Catarina.¹¹ Afterwards he served at Presidente Prudente, state of São Paulo¹² and from 1944 to 1949 where he was a teacher for the São Paulo Conference.¹³

In 1951 he was appointed principal of the Mogi das Cruzes Adventist College, state of São Paulo, where he worked for two years.¹⁴ In 1952, he was named pastor of the Ribeirão Preto church, and in 1954 he was called to be a dean at the São Paulo Academy (today UNASP-HT) in Hortolândia. The following year he served as district pastor in Valparaíso, state of São Paulo. Two years later, in 1957, he was called to assist Pastors Geraldo de Oliveira and Alcides Campolongo in an evangelistic series in the city of Araçatuba, in the same state.¹⁵

In 1958 he was ordained to the pastoral ministry at the São Paulo Conference.¹⁶ The same year, he was transferred to the city of Ourinhos, São Paulo, where he raised funds for the construction of the Central Church, inaugurated on December 23, 1961.¹⁷ In the following years he was a pastor in Bragança Paulista, Guarulhos, and Engenheiro Goulart, all in the state of São Paulo.¹⁸ In 1967 he was a victim of serious orthopedic problems in the spinal cord, forcing him to leave the ministry and retire in 1968.¹⁹ However, after the disease was cured, he continued to serve the church, starting in the district of Vila das Belezas, São Paulo city. Afterwards he assisted the Capão Redondo Church in São Paulo city, and in 1972 he served in the city of Jacareí. The following year he moved with his family to Belém, state of Pará, where they lived for two years. He next returned to the state of São Paulo and served in the cities of Limeira, Araraquara, and Piracicaba until 1978.²⁰

After 1978 the couple moved to Rio Claro, where Reinert was elder and treasurer of the local central church until his last days. In 1981 he received from the Mogi das Cruzes Church a Merit of Honor diploma, due to his contributions as school principal in that city.²¹ Years later, as a result of an automobile accident, Ludgero contracted a cardiac arrhythmia, which caused him to suffer a stroke on May 7, 1999. He passed away two days later, on May 9.²²

Ludgero Reinert served the Seventh-day Adventist Church for more than 60 years as a pastor, teacher, and school principal. He served at many schools in the states of Santa Catarina, Paraná, and São Paulo. He was also known as a dedicated pastor who, assisted by his sharp memory, very much enjoyed giving Bible studies. In this way, Reinert contributed to the growth of the Adventist church and education in Brazil, leaving an important legacy of faith and service.²³

Sources

“Colégio Adventista de Mogi das Cruzes (CAMC).” National Adventist Memory Center, September 12, 2013. Accessed April 30, 2020. http://www.memoriaadventista.com.br/wikiasd/index.php?title=Col%C3%A9gio_Adventista_de_Mogi_das_Cruzes_(CAMC).

“Igreja Adventista de Ourinhos, SP (Central).” National Adventist Memory Center, February 12, 2015. Accessed April 30, 2020. http://www.memoriaadventista.com.br/wikiasd/index.php?title=Igreja_Adventista_de_Ourinhos,_SP_(Central).

“Igreja Comemora Bodas de Ouro.” Revista Adventista, vol. 77, no. 2, February 1982, 26.

Lins, Dario Cesar de. Fé, Honra e Coragem de um Povo. 1st edition, Bom Retiro, SC, 2004.

Ludgero Reinert, “‘Ide... que Eu Estou Convosco’ S. Matt. 28:18, 20.” Revista Adventista, vol. 34, no. 10, October 1939, 12.

Ludgero Reinert, “O Valor do Trabalho Pessoal.” Revista Adventista, vol. 37, no. 3, March 1942, 6.

“Notas e Notícias.” Revista Adventista, vol. 31, no. 11, November 1936, 16.

Roberto Ferrari, “Inauguração das Igrejas de Ourinhos e Platina.” Revista Adventista, vol. 27, no. 9, September 1962.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, various years.

Notes

1. Katia Garcia Reinert, email message to Camila Chede, September 9, 2019.↩

2. Reinert, Ludgero, “O Valor do Trabalho Pessoal,” Revista Adventista, vol. 37, no. 3, March 1942, 6; and Katia Garcia Reinert, email message to Camila Chede, September 9, 2019.↩

3. Reinert, Ludgero, “O Valor do Trabalho Pessoal,” Revista Adventista, vol. 37, no. 3, March 1942, 6.↩

4. Katia Garcia Reinert, email message to Camila Chede, September 9, 2019.↩

5. Ibid.↩

6. “Notas e Notícias,” Revista Adventista, vol. 31, no. 11, November 1936, 16.↩

7. Reinert, Ludgero, “‘Ide... que Eu Estou Convosco’ S. Matt. 28:18, 20,” Revista Adventista, vol. 34, no. 10, October 1939, 12.↩

8. Katia Garcia Reinert, email message to Camila Chede, September 9, 2019.↩

9. Ibid.↩

10. Ibid.↩

11. Dario Cesar de Lins, Fé, Honra e Coragem de um Povo (Bom Retiro, SC, 2004), 101-102.↩

12. Katia Garcia Reinert, email message to Camila Chede, September 9, 2019.↩

13. “São Paulo Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1945), 153; “São Paulo Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1950), 170.↩

14. “Colégio Adventista de Mogi das Cruzes (CAMC),” National Adventist Memory Center, September 12, 2013, accessed April 30, 2020, http://www.memoriaadventista.com.br/wikiasd/index.php?title=Col%C3%A9gio_Adventista_de_Mogi_das_Cruzes_(CAMC).↩

15. Katia Garcia Reinert, email message to Camila Chede, September 9, 2019.↩

16. “São Paulo Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1959), 164.↩

17. “Igreja Adventista de Ourinhos, SP (Central),” National Adventist Memory Center, February 12, 2015, accessed April 30, 2020, http://www.memoriaadventista.com.br/wikiasd/index.php?title=Igreja_Adventista_de_Ourinhos,_SP_(Central); Ferrari, Roberto, “Inauguração das Igrejas de Ourinhos e Platina,” Revista Adventista, vol. 27, no. 9, September 1962, 23-24.↩

18. Katia Garcia Reinert, email message to Camila Chede, September 9, 2019.↩

19. “South Brazil Union Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1969), 218; Katia Garcia Reinert, email message to Camila Chede, September 9, 2019.↩

20. Katia Garcia Reinert, email message to Camila Chede, September 9, 2019.↩

21. “Igreja Comemora Bodas de Ouro,” Revista Adventista, vol. 77, no. 2, February 1982, 26.↩

22. Katia Garcia Reinert, email message to Camila Chede, September 9, 2019.↩

23. Ibid.↩