Prince Bertrand
of Orleans-Braganza
Visits America
(May 1-9, 2001)
Prince Bertrand of Orleans-Braganza
visited the United States in a nine-day stay with American
TFP members that included New York, Washington DC, and Miami.
The May 1-9 visit was full of media interviews and talks.
In Washington DC, he spoke on pressing
issues of Latin American concern and met with leading conservative
leaders. In his conferences in the American capital, he
analyzed and denounced the present strategies of the political
(and even ecclesiastical) left in Latin America, with a
prominent role played by communist Cuba, the Colombian narco-guerrillas
and other revolutionary movements. He also emphasized the
fundamental role of tradition and of the family in society,
as well as the right to private property and free enterprise,
all indispensable if the "Century of the Americas" is to
bring true Christian prosperity. Faithful to the traditional
teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, Prince Bertrand
is active in many pro-life and pro-family organizations.
In Miami, the Prince was invited
for a three-day visit (May 7th - 9th) by the Comision de
Estudios por la Libertad de Cuba. Prince Bertrand brought
a message of solidarity to Cubans-in-exile. He maintained
a busy schedule of meetings with local authorities, exiled
Cuban leaders, and the media. He was invited to speak on
the Radio MAMBI and Radio Marti which is broadcasts to Cuba
itself. He also appeared as a guest on the "Good Morning,
Miami" news program.
Prince Bertrand bears the title
of Prince Imperial of Brazil, since he is the brother and
heir to Prince Louis, the present Head of the Imperial House
of Brazil. Both are direct descendants of the last Emperor
of Brazil, Pedro II. His father, Prince Pedro Henrique of
Orleans-Braganza, the Head of the Imperial House of Brazil
until his death in 1981, entrusted Prince Bertrand's social
and political formation to Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira,
the renowned Catholic thinker, man of action, and founder
of the Brazilian Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family
and Property (TFP). Both Prince Louis and Prince Bertrand
are distinguished members of the organization.
In Brazil and other Iberian-American
countries, Prince Bertrand enjoys moral and intellectual
stature. He has a deep grasp of the Latin American reality,
to which he has dedicated decades of study and observation.
Prince Bertrand descends from the Royal House of France,
in a direct line from St. Louis IX of France (1214-1270),
the crusader-saint. Born in Mandelieu, France in 1941, he
studied at the Jesuit school in Rio de Janeiro and graduated
as a lawyer from the Law School of the University of Sao
Paulo, Brazil.
Prince Bertrand is Bailiff Grand-Cross
of the Order of the Rose, Grand Cross of Peter I and of
the other Imperial Orders of Brazil, as well as Bailiff
Grand Cross of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of
St. George of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.
The American TFP has been honored
with the visit of Prince Bertrand before. In 1999, he visited
and lectured extensively in Texas where he spoke in Dallas
and Houston. He also toured and was received with honors
in New Orleans and several other Louisiana cities.
