Anastás Marcaf

João Maria de Jesus
The monk João Maria in 1898
Born	Anastás Marcaf Syria
Died	c. 1908 Brazil
Nationality	Syrian, Brazilian
Occupation	Monk
Known for	Healing, prophesy

João Maria de Jesus, born Anastás Marcaf (died c. 1908) was an itinerant preacher and healer who was active in southern Brazil around the end of the 19th century and start of the 20th century. After his death his devotees conflated his identity with two other monks named João Maria who wandered, preached and cured in the region. There are many places where a small cross or altar marks a place where the monk "João Maria" stopped. There are many who think that João Maria is still working his miracles today.

João Maria de Jesus was originally named Anastás Marcaf. He was probably a Syrian of Greek ancestry. He arrived in Brazil from Argentina in 1886. When asked where he came from he said he was born in the sea and raised in Buenos Aires. One legend about João Maria de Jesus is that he abandoned the Christian religion to marry a pagan, and fought the French expeditionary army. After his wife's death he was made a prisoner, managed to escape, and had a vision of the apostle Paul who sent him on a pilgrimage for 14 (or perhaps 40) years as penance. Other legends held that he had committed some crime, or had seduced a nun, and as penance had to wander alone in the back country.

In the 1890s João Maria de Jesus began to wander in southern Brazil. He said he had a dream that he would walk the world for fourteen years without eating meat on Wednesdays, Fridays or Saturdays, and without staying in anyone's house. João Maria de Jesus's appearance, with a long white beard, and way of life were similar to João Maria D’Agostini, who had preached and healed in the region earlier. He followed a similar path to D’Agostini, and blessed several sources of water. He assumed the first monk's names and sanctity as a means to gain credibility among the people, but never claimed that he was a reincarnation of the first João Maria.

During the Federalist Revolution of 1893–95 João Maria de Jesus attended wounded rebels. His teachings were prophetic and apocalyptic. He said God would punish mankind with plagues of insects and bloody wars. He thought the First Brazilian Republic of 1889 was the work of the devil, and defended restoration of the monarchy as the "order of God". The doctor and federalist colonel Angelo Dourado met João Maria, who claimed to have foreseen the present war, and said the republicans were animated by the devil, and had strength and money, but the others would win even without arms.

João Maria de Jesus became famous as a healer, and his medicine was thought to be miraculous. It was said he could cure a person simply by praying for their health and prescribing a tea from a common herb called "monk's broom". He was quoted as saying, "He who does not know how to read the book of nature is illiterate in God's eyes." His devotees thought that all objects or places that he touched became sacred, and would provide the hermit's blessings after he had disappeared. João Maria de Jesus avoided gatherings of followers, and did not spend long in one place, so was less of a hermit than the first João Maria. He performed sacraments such as baptism despite being a layman, which caused conflicts with the clergy.