A devout great-grandmother in Brazil recently had quite the religious revelation.
It seems that the small figurine she believed to be Saint Anthony of Padua, a Franciscan preacher often portrayed holding a baby Jesus, was actually a beloved and wise “Lord of the Rings” character.
Gabriela Brandão posted a few pictures on Facebook on Dec. 30 of what she called “the funniest discovery of 2016.” In the photos, she shows a statuette and explains: “My daughter’s great-grandmother prays to Saint Anthony every day.” A second photo gives viewers a “closer look” of the statuette, and a third photo reveals the statuette is of Elrond, the half-elven Lord of Rivendell, from the “LOTR” film trilogy, based on the books.
Several ebay listings suggest the Elrond statuette the grandma had is part of a Kinder Surprise “LOTR” set.
Brandão spoke to Buzzfeed in Spanish about how the family broke the news to the devout great-grandmother.
“We tried explaining it to her but at first she didn’t understand,” she told the site. “The next day we explained again, she understood and we got her a new image of Saint Anthony.”
As far as the popularity of her initial Facebook posts, Brandão said she “never expected any of this to happen; it’s crazy. But it’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened to me.”
For the record, this is Saint Anthony of Padua:
And this is Elrond, portrayed by actor Hugo Weaving in the films.
At least she wasn’t praying to the ring that rules them all, right?
(H/T Remezcla)