on Facebook and has gained thousands of likes

Gabriela told her about the blunder upon seeing the figure

The great-grandmother thought she was

The figurine of Elrond the elf king the grandmother had been praying to

An elderly woman accidentally spent years praying to a Lord of the Rings figurine after confusing it for a saint.

The great-grandmother was alerted to her blunder by her granddaughter, Gabriela Brandão, who pointed out, much to her amusement, that the plastic statue was actually Elrond the elf king.

Gabriela, from Sao Paulo, Brazil posted photos of figurine on Facebook with a caption describing it as the: 'The funniest discovery of 2016.'

She wrote: 'My daughter's great-grandmother prays to this figure of Saint Anthony every day.'

The unnamed woman thought she was praying to Portuguese Catholic priest and friar, Saint Anthony, who is often depicted in robe similar to Elrond's.

Upon seeing the toy, Gabriela tried to explain to her grandma that it was a character from the famous series of books, and movie franchise where he was played by actor Hugo Weaving.

An easy mistake? Portuguese Catholic priest and friar, Saint Anthony (left) and Elrond the elf king played by actor Hugo Weaving (right)

Gabriela told BuzzFeed: 'We tried to explain right away but she didn't understand at first.

'The next day we explained again and she understood and we got her a new figure of Saint Anthony.'

Her post has received over 3,000 likes and hundreds of comments on Facebook.