This article analyzes the usage of an object, specifically a rose, by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), a Brazilian Neo- Pentecostal church, in Brussels and London. In the belief that evil spiritual entities infest the world, the church employs, among other rituals, a consecrated rose to combat and expel them. This is aligned with the church’s guideline of spiritual warfare, an incessant battle between good and evil. The rose also offers other spiritual gifts, in line with an institutional interpretation of the Holy Spirit that extends beyond its own members. To analyze its conception of evil and the use of spiritually empowered objects, this paper examines the role of preaching and the process through which members are made potential manipulators of these objects upon others, challenging prevailing perspectives on ritual theory and the materiality of religion.
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