# ‘No one disrespects Our Lady’: Brazil’s patron saint becomes election flashpoint

https://mins.news/en/item/82885

- The Guardian, 2026-10-02 04:00 UTC
- Politics
- Original: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/02/brazil-election-lady-of-aparecida-lula-bolsonaro-row

> Speculation that far-right presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro could seek to remove Our Lady of Aparecida as Brazil’s patroness has triggered a nationwide outcry ahead of Sunday’s vote. With Bolsonaro and Catholic leftwing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva tied in polls, analysts say the dispute could affect the knife-edge race.

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