‘Catholicism is reinventing itself’: Brazilians waking at 4am to stream prayers

Habit of rising early for livestreams growing rapidly, suggesting Brazil is testing ground for religious influencers

Psychologist Claudia Rodrigues de Oliveira Barbosa, 54, needs to be at work by 7.40am, but she wakes up at 3.40am - not because she has a lengthy commute, but to watch a dawn prayer" livestream on YouTube.

She is one of the millions of Brazilians who tune in to the 4am sermons of Catholic friar Gilson da Silva Pupo Azevedo, 38, known as Frei Gilson, who has recently averaged an impressive 2m daily views for each video.