Doña Nely has a little figurine next to her bed in Florianópolis, Brazil. Every night she prays to it with the same devotion as always, convinced that it is Saint Anthony, her trusted saint for years.
Her great-granddaughter Gabriela Brandão took a close look at it one day in December 2016 and something did not add up. The robe, the long hair, that solemn gaze… it turned out to be Elrond, the elf from The Lord of the Rings played by Hugo Weaving.
It had been given to her years ago by one of Doña Nely’s ex-boyfriends, someone who now lives with Alzheimer’s and no longer even remembers that detail.
When the family explained the mistake to her, at first she did not understand anything. But she ended up accepting something beautiful: replacing Elrond with a real image of Saint Anthony, without losing a single gram of the faith that accompanies her every night. 🙏✨
