The 17th annual "March for Jesus" drew more than 1.5 million evangelical Christians in Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city Monday. The parade was sponsored by the Reborn in Christ Church, whose leaders, Estevam Hernandes Filho and his wife, Sonia Haddad Moraes Hernandes, recently returned to Brazil after serving time as guests of the United States penal system for smuggling $56,467 cash stashed in luggage, her purse, a son's backpack and a Bible on a flight into Miami from Sao Paulo in 2007. The couple also faced charges (later quashed) in Brazil for stealing millions of dollars from their parishioners to finance a lavish lifestyle which included mansions and horse farms.

The event was also seen as at least partly a welcome home party for Filho and Hernandes.