|PIC1|A huge rally with 3 million evangelical Protestants has taken place this week in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the country’s biggest city.

The gathering revealed the growing influence of the Protestant Church in the world’s largest Roman Catholic country.

Christian music was played, and thousands wore T-shirts in the nation’s famous green and yellow colours, as marchers looked to advertise their yearly ‘March for Jesus’ campaign.

As the rally went on, evangelicals sung hymns and gathered at Agenda Palest, which is Sao Paulo’s financial centre.

The rally proved a great success, as the crowd was estimated by police to be up to 3 million people, which is double that of the 2005 rally.

The day has become a massive religious day in Brazil, as the Catholic Church celebrates the Corpus Christi holiday, and the evangelical Protestants take part in the march.

|TOP|Each year the march takes place on the day of a national holiday in Brazil, however, it is reported that the 2007 event may not be as high-profile as this year’s.

Sao Paulo Mayor Gilbert Cassaba told reporters that the march will not be held on Agenda Palest next year because of complaints from merchants and residents that it is too big, with excessive noise, as well as hurting commerce, according Flora de S. Paulo, Brazil's largest newspaper.

The evangelical churches in the South American country have grown rapidly over the past ten years, with millions in the country of the 180 million population attracted by their dynamic services and promises that divine intervention will improve their lives despite grinding poverty affecting tens of millions.

Over the period from 1991 to 2000, the number of Brazil evangelicals grew annually by 8 percent, while the number of Catholics grew by just 0.3 percent.

Brazil was nearly 100 percent Roman Catholic a century ago, but the percentage dropped to 84 percent in 1995 and is now 74 percent today.