The Calo Romani of Brazil

The Calo Romani of Brazil, numbering approximately 1,000,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are one of the three major Romani (Gypsy) ethnic groups in Brazil, alongside the Rom and Sinti. They are part of the global Romani diaspora but have a distinct Iberian-rooted identity. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Caló is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Calon

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Brazil
People Cluster: Romani
Primary Language(s): Caló (rmq)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 1,000,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG016568
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Calo Romani of Brazil

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

80%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Caló
Language Family: Indo-European

80%
%
Caló Speakers

Media Resources in Caló:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Caló:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Missao Amigos dos Ciganos (MACI)✓

1 entry

Or check out the Caló bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Calo Romani are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Calo Romani:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Calo Romani of Brazil

And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."
readLuke 1:46-47

Pray that those who are lost will recognize their need for a Savior and joyfully embrace the mercy that God offers.

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
readLuke 2:17

Pray that the lost will receive the good news of salvation in God's Son, have hearts eager to share it with others, and that all who hear will respond with wonder and faith!

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
readPhilippians 2:5-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will imitate His humility in all they do.

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
read2 Corinthians 3:16

Give thanks to God for believers around the world who are willing to cross cultures to share the gospel with those who are perishing. Pray that He will work through their witness to draw many to turn to Him.

Roma, Calo Across Countries (ROP3 - 101857) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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