Zilda Arns
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Zilda Arns Neumann (25 August 1934 – 12 January 2010) was a Brazilian pediatrician and aid worker. A sister of
Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns, the former Archbishop of São Paulo known for his efforts against the Brazilian military dictatorship, Zilda Arns became internationally known by founding a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
pastoral care for poor children. Her humanitarian work, which also included the poor and the elderly, spanned over three decades. Arns died on January 12, 2010, as a result of the
2010 Haiti earthquake The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake that struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (departm ...
. In 2015, the Archdiocese of São Paulo intended to start a diocesan investigation in order to open a beatification process.


Early life and education

Born in the rural town of
Forquilhinha Forquilhinha is a municipality in the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina. In 2020, it had a population of 27,211 inhabitants. It covers an area of 184,557 km2 at an altitude of 42 meters above sea lev ...
, Arns was one of the 13 children of Gabriel Arns (1890–1965) and Helene Arns (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Steiner) (1894–1974). She was the aunt of
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
Flávio Arns. Two of Arns' memories were of seeing her father go door-to-door on his horse to help contain a
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
epidemic and watching her mother arrange for a sick neighbour to be taken to the nearest hospital on the back of a cart, a journey of three hours.Zilda Arns
– ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' obituary
Those acts inspired her contemplate life as a doctor, even most of her priests or teachers. Having studied
medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
, she graduated from university in 1959, UFPR - Federal University of Paraná. Arns further studied
public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...
, with the aim of assisting poor children in environments plagued with high child mortality rates,
malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...
and violence.


Career

After she worked in local hospitals tending to infants, she was then given charge of a string of clinics on the impoverished outskirts of the southern city of Curitiba. Arns was the founder coordinator of ''Pastoral da Criança'' (Pastoral Care for Children), an organization for social action of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil. The Care for Children has one of the largest programs in the world devoted to child health and nutrition. The program has about 260,000 volunteers and has reduced infant mortality by more than half in over 31,000 urban and rural communities of intense poverty. Arns also coordinated ''Pastoral da Pessoa Idosa'' (Pastoral Care for Elderly Persons), and social action organisms of the Episcopal Conference of Brazil. As a Catholic, Arns condemned contraception. Her approach was based on familial
education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
in order to help decrease the rates of petty crime and preventable diseases.


Personal life

Widowed since 1978, she was a mother of four and grandmother of ten. Arns was killed by the Haiti earthquake of 12 January 2010 in Port-au-Prince, where she was carrying out humanitarian activities on behalf of ''Pastoral da Criança''. She was struck in the head by falling debris from the roof of a church in which she had just given a speech. She was 75 years old at the time. Brazilian President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known Mononym, mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist and former metalworker who has served as the 39th president of Brazil since 2023. A mem ...
attended her funeral.


Awards and honours

She was awarded with several honorary citizen titles throughout Brazil. She was also recognized as a ''Public Health Heroe'' by Pan American Health OrganizationPan American Health Organization. Public Health Heroes. Dr. Zilda Arns Newmann


See also

* Casualties of the 2010 Haiti earthquake


References


External links


Zilda Arns
– ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' obituary
Aftermath
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arns, Zilda 1934 births 2010 deaths Brazilian people of German descent Federal University of Paraná alumni Brazilian pediatricians People from Santa Catarina (state) Victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake Brazilian women philanthropists Roman Catholic activists 20th-century Brazilian physicians 21st-century Brazilian physicians 20th-century Brazilian women physicians 21st-century Brazilian women physicians Brazilian Roman Catholics