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

"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:25-27

Pray that the lost who think they have everything they need will recognize their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus and turn to Him in faith.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
readMatthew 11:28-29

Please pray for them to lift their eyes to Jesus and find rest for their souls, lasting peace, and hope in Him.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples."
readJohn 8:31

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will abide in Christ daily, depending on Him for every need.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
readMatthew 9:37-38

Pray that the Lord of the harvest will raise up believers to send out into His harvest field, which is ripe and ready.

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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