In the heart of Brazil, a thousand-mile, five-day journey by riverboat up the Amazon River, is the tiny Church of the Poor Devil. Its people, poverty-stricken by the standards of industrial societies, have great spiritual wealth. To John Dunne, who made the riverboat voyage and discovered the church, it is a symbol of the heart's desire and a metaphor for Christianity. The Church of the Poor Devil is the story of two parallel journeys. One is the author's riverboat trip to Manaus, the city where he discovered the church; his joining its people in a yearly religious festival; and his becoming acquainted, on the boat ride and in the city, with members of the lowliest social class- "the poor, the hungry, the sorrowful, and the outcast." The other is the author's spiritual journey, the story of how the people he met enlarged his understanding. of
Christianity and reinforced his faith. For every reader, this book is an.invitation to both voyages. Its pages provide an opportunity to move, in the author's words, from personal religion a-solitary, contemplative experience-to the religion of the poor-a joyous sharing that provides the courage to face adversity. At its conclusion you. too, will have learned more about the nature of spiritual fulfillment.