Text by Giovani Sella, UFPR journalism student
Under the guidance of Rogerio Galindo

Hundreds of thanksgiving plaques from devotees of the miracle worker Maria Bueno were removed from the site where her tomb is located, at the São Francisco de Paula Municipal Cemetery. The Curitiba City Hall asked the association that preserves the site to remove the plaques that had been nailed to the wall in front of her headstone at the end of last year.

In a statement, City Hall reported that the plaques were "inadvertently" nailed to the wall of the São Francisco de Paula Municipal Cemetery and that the tomb itself remains intact. The reason for the removal request was a renovation carried out on the cemetery's gutters, which has already been completed.

The association, which is chaired by florists who work on site, received the notice to remove the plaques on November 13, 2025. The organization is responsible for opening and closing the chapel, which is in the lower part of the tomb and is open three days a week.

City Hall said it has no information on whether the plaques will return to the same place. The plaques contained messages of thanks, favors, and miracles received, some more than 50 years old.

Maria Bueno

Maria da Conceição Bueno was born in Morretes on December 8, 1864. While still a child, her mother passed away and her father disappeared in the Paraguayan War, and she was raised by a sister. Her sister suffered bouts of madness, which led Maria to move to Curitiba and live in a convent of the Marcelina Sisters between 1880 and 1888.

She worked as a domestic worker and laundress. She was a Black woman described as "very friendly, with a kind expression and a beautiful body." The serviceman José Diniz, who lived with Maria, committed the crime of femicide on January 29, 1893.

Maria Bueno was brutally murdered in an alley off what is now Vicente Machado Street. Her body was found with her head separated from her body and razor wounds on her hands.

Soon after her death, reports of miracles began to appear. Every year, on All Souls' Day, thousands of the faithful visit her tomb in the municipal cemetery. There are accounts of healings, deliverance from addictions, and of the devotion as a source of energy and courage for the faithful.