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Macedo BispoEdir Biography

Brazilian religious leader, founder and leader of Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus (Universal Church of the Temple of God). Known in the U.S. as the Universal Church, it has temples based in New York, along with 225 temples in 34 countries, a TV network worth over $50 million U.S. dollars, two magazines and two newspapers, a bank and over 3.5 million followers. It is the second largest Pentecostal church in Brazil, where the Catholic population used to be in a majority until the demographics began to change. Macedo was one of 15 children that his mother bore from a total of 33 pregnancies. Only seven of her kids reached adulthood. In 1992, Macedo spent 2 1/2 weeks in jail on charges of illegal profits. The charges were not substantiated and he was released. In 1994, one of the priests of the Universal Church kicked a statue of St. Mary in front of TV cameras, causing a national uproar. Link to Wikipedia biography Read less