Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. It's easy to get things confused when the lines between them are already blurred, as is the case with the fantasy genre and religion. That's not to say I'm calling religion a fantasy - what I mean is that there are plenty of people out there who take fiction to obsessive new levels, with the likes of
effectively being a religion by this point.
While there are likely some mega-fans out there praying to fictional characters, this woman did the same completely by accident.
Gabriela Brandão, a freelance makeup artist from Florianópolis, Brazil, posted this story onto her Facebook page, detailing how one of her relatives ended up praying to a
figurine without realizing it. She had believed it was a representation of Saint Anthony, but it was actually the elven Lord of Rivendell, Elrond.
"The funniest discovery of 2016," the translation of the post reads. My daughter's great-grandmother prays to this figure of Saint Anthony every day, but looking more closely..."
Strangely enough, as one commenter pointed out, this was a surprisingly good choice - even if it was a mistake. She explains that there are various similarities between the fictional elf and the saint:
"That… is actually weirdly perfect, though. Saint Anthony of Padua was noted in life for, among other things, having expert knowledge of Scripture and other ancient writings, his spiritual teaching, as well as his devotion to the sick and poor."
"He is also a patron saint for amputees, mariners,
travelers
, animals, the elderly, poor, and a number of other patronages.
If that doesn’t sound like Elrond, I don’t know what does."
"Elrond became a great scholar and healer, known for speaking wisdom during the White Council (which was held in his stronghold, Rivendell). And speaking of Rivendell, it was a haven of peace, where travellers young and old, rich and poor, were welcomed and fed and given opportunity to rest or work or live how they chose under Elrond's hospitality."
"Just sayin'--the closest thing Middle-earth would have to Saint Anthony would be Elrond."
This isn't the only time people have gotten confused between movies and religion. There was the time where this mother got a photo of Ewan McGregor as
confused for a picture of Jesus.
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Later, when Gabriela spoke to Buzzfeed about the debacle, she describes how "The next day we explained again and she [the grandmother] understood and we got her a new figure of Saint Anthony". Thankfully this gives us a little closure to the story, as the this must have been pretty embarrassing for the grandma.
However, if she's had good fortune all these years of
praying to Elrond, maybe she'll decide to keep him around for a good word or two. It can't hurt to ask an elven lord for help now and again.
