Brazilian woman prayed to Lord of the Rings elf after mistaking for saint
The woman's granddaughter grew suspicious of the three-inch "saint" figure's attire and realised the error after an online search.
Friday 6 January 2017 12:48, UK
A Brazilian woman has revealed on Facebook that her grandmother has been praying daily to a Lord of the Rings figurine after mistaking it for an icon of a saint.
Beautician Gabriela Brandao, from Florianapolis, posted images of the three-inch figure of the half-elf character Elrond after thinking his clothing looked odd for a saint.
It was then she realised her grandmother had believed she was praying to San Antonio de Padua, the patron saint of the poor, rather than the Lord of Rivendell from the fantasy trilogy by JRR Tolkien.
Ms Brandao noticed the figure was wearing a cloak that was open down the middle, a belt and what appears to be a blue necklace on top of a white robe.
She wrote: "My daughter's great grandmother prays to this figure of San Antonio every day, but looking closer..."
She then included an image from eBay showing the Lord of the Rings figurine for sale.
Elrond is played by Hugo Weaving in the hugely popular Lord of the Rings films, directed by Peter Jackson.