The figure of Nossa Senhora do Aparecida, Brazil’s patron saint, has turned into a significant topic in the 2026 presidential race after claims circulated—based on false information—that conservative Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, an Evangelical Christian, intended to abolish the saint’s title officially.
For almost a century, this title, referring to the Blessed Virgin Mary, has been associated with Brazil, a status confirmed by the late Pope St. Pius X in 1930. Our Lady of Aparecida has a rich history stretching back over 300 years in a nation where Christianity is prevalent; more than 56 percent of its population exceeding 213 million identifies as Catholic, while nearly 27 percent identify as Evangelical.
Recently, various platforms, both social and mainstream media, have spread allegations against Senator Bolsonaro, suggesting that he plans to remove the patron saint title if elected president. A report from CNN Brasil noted that these false claims also twisted his statements made at an August event, where he indicated that Brazil would “belong to our Lord Jesus Christ” if he secured victory in the upcoming October election.
Bolsonaro quickly dismissed these allegations—now proven untrue—in a video shared on social media last week. He attributed the misinformation to a supposed “mafia” from the ruling far-left Workers’ Party (PT), led by the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The conservative candidate emphasized his respect for all religions, as well as those without faith, contrasting himself with Lula, who he accused of attempting to interfere with Catholic Church matters. This was in response to Lula’s recent comments to Church leaders regarding the slow growth of Catholicism in Brazil compared to Evangelicalism, which he attributed to the Church’s retention of celibacy.
“There’s no such plan. So here we go, right to the end, the PT only knows how to do one thing: lie. It came to power through lies, but we’re going to oust it with the truth,” Bolsonaro stated.
In another social media post, the senator claimed that Globonews was the central source of the misinformation directed at him and Our Lady of Aparecida. Shortly after, he shared a segment from a Globonews broadcast that included an official correction regarding the misinformation, revealing that a project similar to what was suggested had been proposed to Congress in 2007 and was subsequently shelved. Bolsonaro cautioned his followers about the spread of lies from the “PT mafia” leading up to the elections.
The senator discussed the false accusations during a visit to a local Catholic podcast called SantoFlow. He likened the disinformation campaign against him to the assassination attempt on his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, during the 2018 presidential race. He recalled discovering the misleading campaign while playing soccer in Minas Gerais, the same state where his father was attacked eight years prior.
“I am convinced they tried to kill my father because they recognized he was already the President of Brazil in 2018. So they positioned themselves to eliminate him. That was the stabbing incident in Juiz de Fora,” he remarked on the podcast. “To illustrate my point, I think I can see this fake news about me as a sort of stab against me.”
“I thought, ‘What’s happening, man? This is absurd, it makes no sense.’ How did this even spread so quickly?” he questioned.
The senator reiterated during the podcast that he often falls victim to “fake news,” but he credits his faith in God for giving him the strength to move forward with his campaign.
This controversy involving Our Lady of Aparecida has also sparked a series of divergent rulings in the Brazilian Supreme Court, a body still dealing with internal conflicts among its justices, some of whom are part of the top electoral authority, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). The judiciary entered the fray after Bolsonaro’s campaign lodged a formal complaint regarding the false claims, arguing that they amounted to “hate speech and criminal accusation.”
As reported by the state-run news agency Agência Brasil, Supreme Court Justice André Mendoça ordered the immediate removal of all online content relating to the unfounded assertion that Bolsonaro aimed to dismiss Our Lady of Aparecida as Brazil’s patron saint. Yet, just days later, Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino suspended Mendoça’s ruling following a request from comedian Antonio Tabet, who claimed the removal would infringe on free speech rights.
On Tuesday, Justice Luiz Fux overruled Dino’s decision, responding to a fresh request from the Bolsonaro campaign. He escalated the matter to the entire Supreme Court, which is expected to commence voting on the issue soon.
Although Brazil remains predominantly Christian, its Catholic demographic has been declining over the past decade. On the other hand, the Evangelical community has seen slight growth. This shift has led to discussions on social media, with Brazilians attributing the recent underwhelming performance of the national soccer team in the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup to the rise of Evangelical Protestantism.
Some citizens have asserted on social platforms that the team performed significantly better when it was “acting like Catholics.” Notably, while Brazil is the record holder for the most World Cup trophies with five, it has faced a series of disappointing outcomes in the last two decades, having last claimed a title in 2002.
