Religious Sentiment

Religious sentiment is one of the strongest characteristics of Ceará. The State has two great pilgrimage centres, Canindé and Juazeiro do Norte. Devotees of St Francis come from all parts of the State to the sanctuary at Canindé. Juazeiro do Norte is the second most important pilgrim centre in Brazil (after Aparecida do Norte in the State of São Paulo). The pilgrims travel to Juazeiro in search of cures and miracles from Father Cícero Romão Batista, known as "Padim Ciço". This priest was never officially recognised as a saint by the Catholic Church; on the contrary, at the height of the fanatical devotion that he inspired among the people of the North East Region, he was punished by the Vatican by suspension from the priesthood. He then entered the world of politics by leading popular revolts and deposing state governments. For "the blessed", the pilgrims and believers of the North East, he remains a saint.

In Juazeiro, the monument to Father Cícero is the third largest concrete statue in the world, after the Statue of Liberty in New York and Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. Made by the North Eastern artist Armando Lacerda in 1969, it is 27 metres high and was erected on the Serra do Horto, a place where Father Cícero used to go for his spiritual retreats.