President said that he will not be able to attend the event this year, and stressed that he sanctioned the law that created the day of the March.| Photo: André Coelho/EFE

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) declined this Tuesday (6) the invitation to go to the March for Jesus, which will take place on Thursday (8), Corpus Christi holiday, in São Paulo. In a letter sent to the apostle Estevam Hernandes, from the organization of the event, Lula thanked him for the invitation, but said that it will not be possible to participate this year.

Lula relayed the invitation to federal deputy Benedita da Silva and minister Jorge Messias, from the Attorney General’s Office (AGU). He also highlighted in the letter that sanctioned, in 2009, the law that instituted the National Day of the March for Jesus.

“I want to reaffirm my admiration for the March and my commitment to guarantee, forever, the full right of every person in this country to continue professing their faith”, he added in the letter.

Former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), who used to participate in the March, is not expected to participate this year, according to Fabio Wajngarten, Bolsonaro’s lawyer and personal adviser, told the Estadão.