The Child Preachers of Brazil
In The New York Times Magazine, Samantha M. Shapiro profiles a number of Brazilian children who offer a ministry of healing and prayer to the poor and working classes. These children largely belong to the Pentecostal denomination Assemblies of God, which “emphasizes that the Holy Spirit acts not just through trained priests but through anyone – the poor, the uneducated, even children,” Shapiro writes. “Child preachers fill a special niche: They embody the charisma and showmanship of older preachers, but filtered through a child’s innocence.”