The show opened July 27 in the evening, with Kumo "waking up" to organ music from inside the cathedral. As the spider, suspended from cranes, climbed off its perch between the towers, "snow" fell from above as part of the event's special effects.

"I don't understand how allowing a mechanical spider to stand on the cathedral is anything but disturbing, disappointing and even shameful," wrote Diane Bartlett on the archbishop's Facebook wall.

Others defended the archbishop's decision.

"While the viewer may find the juxtaposition jarring, I gather it's supposed to be," wrote Kris Dmytrenko. "But sacrilegious? C'mon, give your archbishop a break. This civic engagement with art recalls the Vatican's Courtyard of the Gentiles project. Culture is a bridge."

The decision to participate in the show was motivated by a desire to engage with the wider Ottawa community, said Archbishop Prendergast.

"We make use of the city to obtain permits for our events, and they are most cooperative," he said. "The Good Friday Way of the Cross lets us have access to public venues (Supreme Court, Parliament Hill, the plaza in front of the National Gallery), and the police offer a security escort.

"We try to be good citizens, good neighbors and cooperative," he said.

"To the extent that we did see symbolism, it was that, afterward, Our Lady would continue to reign, something I mentioned in a tweet right after the Thursday performance, as people I respect began to make their objections known."

Organizers approached the cathedral staff last year. They wanted to position Kumo on the cathedral because it is across the street from the National Art Gallery, which features a large spider sculpture called Maman in its entrance courtyard, Archbishop Prendergast said. The idea was to make it seem as if Kumo was approaching Maman.

"Cathedral staff were shown other cathedrals and public buildings in Europe that had been involved," the archbishop said. "It seemed innocent enough.

"I guess we thought people would see this as a sign the church is involved in Ottawa's celebrations," he said. "Many people, both Catholic and others, English and Francophone, remarked how pleased they were that Notre Dame was involved in our celebration of Canada 150."

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Gyapong is Ottawa correspondent for Canadian Catholic News.