What to Know About the Viral Claim About Brazil’s Patron Saint Jolting a Tight Presidential Race
The dispute has drawn court orders, counterorders and church denials as polls show a tight race between Lula and Bolsonaro.
- On Friday, Sept. 25, Supreme Court Justice André Mendonça ordered removal of false posts claiming Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro would strip Our Lady of Aparecida of her patron saint status; Justice Flávio Dino overturned the ruling, and Justice Luiz Fux reversed it again.
- The false claims stem from a 2007 bill proposed by a Bolsonaro ally and an August video where Sen. Bolsonaro vowed to 'declare that Brazil belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ,' which some Catholics interpreted as intent to remove the patron saint.
- Religion has become central to the campaign as Catholics, who comprise around 56.7% of the population, fear losing cultural influence to Evangelicals, who make up 26.9%, according to Brazil's national statistics agency.
- President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva invoked the controversy at a rally, stating, 'No one will make a mockery of Our Lady of Aparecida,' while holding 48% of Catholic voting intentions according to Quaest polls.
- The Supreme Court is expected to convene a full-court session to review the case before Brazilians vote on Oct. 4, with a potential runoff scheduled for Oct. 25 if no candidate wins an outright majority.
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Catholic Brazil could elect the first evangelical president. Lite on the patroness (ANSA)
My Mother Lode
What to know about the viral claim about Brazil’s patron saint jolting a tight presidential race
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s patron saint, Our Lady of Aparecida, has become a surprise election issue just days ahead of the Oct. 4 vote. A comment on Jesus by presidential candidate Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro went viral last week and triggered fears among many Catholics that he might intend to remove the patron saint,...
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The patron saint of Brazil, Our Lady of Aparecida, has become a surprising electoral issue a few days after the October 4 vote.
Leftists Try to Weaponize Virgin Mary Against Conservative Flavio Bolsonaro
Brazil's Patroness, Nossa Senhora do Aparecida (Our Lady of Aparecida), has become a talking point in the nation's 2026 presidential campaign in recent days after a fake news campaign claimed that conservative Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, an Evangelical Christian, planned to formally eliminate the Catholic patron saint title.
The Brazilian president and candidate for reelection, Luis Ignacia Lula da Silva, fed this Tuesday in the final stretch of the campaign a false news about an alleged anti-Catholicism of his rival Flávio Bolsonaro. Five days after the first round of the elections, Lula pledged during an act in the city of Fortaleza to keep the Virgin of Aparecida as patron saint of Brazil, in front of rumors that Bolsonaro wants to remove that title, something he…
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