Brazil’s Marian Pilgrimages Draw 494,000 to Aparecida and Millions to Belém as Safety Questions Follow Círio Rope Cut

Overview

• The National Shrine in Aparecida reported more than 494,000 visitors from Oct. 3–12, including over 152,000 on Sunday, according to an official balance.
• Belém’s Círio de Nazaré main procession covered about 3.6 km in roughly six hours, with participation reported in the millions; Segup counted 1.9 million at Saturday’s Trasladação and Sunday coverage cited about 2.5 million.
• Festa de Nazaré director Antônio Souza lamented the cutting of the traditional rope, said controlling such massive crowds is extremely difficult, noted a 30–40 minute delay in the Trasladação, and pledged improvements while keeping the cord locally produced in Pará.
• At least three pilgrims died during the pilgrimage period, including a 30-year-old military police officer shot during a robbery on the Presidente Dutra highway near Lorena.
• Local devotions nationwide included a 25 km walk in Tangará da Serra with more than 2,000 participants and a river procession in Laranjal Paulista with about 150 faithful, while São Paulo’s tourism office projected R$168.8 million in direct spending tied to Aparecida’s festivities.