Evangelical march in Brazil draws 1.5 million

Saturday, November 21, 2009 9:34 AM

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Tuesday, November 03, 2009

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) - About 1.5 million evangelical Christians joined Brazil's annual "March for Jesus" on Monday, an event sponsored by a church whose leaders recently returned after being imprisoned in the US for money smuggling.

Now in its 17th year, the march unites faithful from hundreds of evangelical churches and attracts dozens of Christian bands, preachers and local celebrities.

It is organised by the powerful Reborn in Christ Church, whose leaders said they had hoped to draw five million people to gather around a central Sao Paulo plaza where the main stage was located.

Hundreds of thousands followed Estevam Hernandes Filho and his wife, Sonia Haddad Moraes Hernandes, along the 2.5-mile (4-kilometre) route of the march, and still more gathered at the plaza.

Police estimated late Thursday that around 1.5 million people turned out for the event.

The couple returned to Brazil in August after serving five months in prison, five months under house arrest in Florida and two months of probation for not declaring $56,000 in cash they were carrying on a flight from Sao Paulo to Miami. The money was hidden in a child's backpack and a Bible case, among other bags.

Filho said the theme of this year's gathering - "March to Topple Giants" - refers to evangelicals' battle against "discrimination, misunderstanding and mainly the stereotypes" in Brazil.

Brazil is home to more Roman Catholics than any other country but has seen a steady increase in the number of evangelicals in recent decades.

According to the 2000 census, 74 per cent of Brazilians identify as Catholics, down from 84 per cent in 1990. Fifteen per cent classified themselves as evangelical Protestants, up from nine per cent in 1990.

Andrea Pazin, a 33-year-old human resources manger, bundled her two young children and husband into a car and drove 150 miles (240 kilometres) from interior Sao Paulo state for the march.

"It's one giant party for Jesus," she said, standing among a noisy throng of revellers.

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