An elderly woman from Brazil did not realize that she had been praying to a toy figure from the 'Lord of the Rings' for years, thinking it was the figurine of a saint.
The 82-year-old woman, named Nely, thought her sincere prayers had been directed at Saint Anthony, but it turned out to be a toy figure of Lord Elrond of Rivendell, played by Hugo Weaving in the movie.
A relative, Gabriela Brandao, found out about it and posted photos of the toy on Facebook with the caption, "The funniest discovery of 2016."
Brandao, a makeup artist who lives in Florianópolis, Brazil, said her daughter's great-grandmother has been praying to "Saint Anthony" daily for years. However, when she looked more closely at the figurine, she saw the familiar pointy ears of the elf lord.
Intrigued by what she saw, she Googled the manufacturer's name, which was printed on the bottom of the toy, and found out it was the maker of 'Lord of the Rings' toys, according to Veja.com.
She posted photos of the toy figure along with a photo of the exact toy from eBay. Apparently, grandma Nely's saint could be bought for just $8.43.
Her hilarious post has quickly gone viral in Brazil and her photos have been liked and shared more than three thousand times on Facebook.
Saint Anthony of Padua, a Christian monk and a popular Catholic saint, is usually depicted wearing a long brown monk robe with a belt and holding baby Jesus in his arms. Lord Elrond of Rivendell also wears a long brown robe with a belt.
The similarities in their attires could have been why grandma Nely thought the elf lord was the saint.
Brandao said they explained the mix-up to grandma Nely. They also got her a new and real Saint Anthony figure.
"We tried to explain right away but she didn't understand at first," Brandão told BuzzFeed. "The next day we explained again and she understood and we got her a new figure of Saint Anthony."
Brandao did not expect that her post would get so much attention.
"I never expected any of this to happen, it's crazy," she said. "But it's the funniest thing that ever happened to me."
Veteran actor Ian McKellen, who starred as the wizard Gandalf in the 'Lord of the Rings,' was among those who took notice of the funny social media post.
"A woman in Brazil has apparently been praying to Elrond, thinking he's Saint Anthony. She's found herself a new idol," he joked on Facebook.
