Bishop JB Carvalho links Tancredo Neves' death to papal blessing

Bishop JB Carvalho, founder of the Comunidade das Nações—the evangelical church where Senator Flávio Bolsonaro was baptized—has drawn renewed attention for claims made in his 2001 book, ‘A Bomba — a verdade pode ser explosiva’.

In the book, Carvalho linked the death of President-elect Tancredo Neves to a blessing received from Pope John Paul II during a visit to the Vatican in January 1985. Carvalho suggested that Neves received a ‘blessing’ to govern that resulted in him never ascending the palace ramp, as Neves died in April 1985 before taking office.

Carvalho also criticized the 1930 legal recognition of Nossa Senhora Aparecida as the patron saint of Brazil, describing the practice as the ‘institutionalization of pagan worship’. He argued that the papal declaration regarding the patron saint led to ‘catastrophic results’ for the nation, including economic recession, inflation, and increased crime.