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(OSV News) -- Many viewers of the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics July 26 were shocked by a drag queen show that included a scene widely interpreted as a parody of Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper."
Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, chairman of the board of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., spoke out July 27 against the depiction with a special call to prayer for the faithful based on his prayer at the 10th National Eucharistic Congress just one week prior.
He recalled the powerful experience when tens of thousands gathered in adoration and prayers for healing July 19th in Lucas Oil Stadium. "We humbled ourselves in the presence of Jesus, Our Lord and Savior," he wrote. "Recognizing that if one member of the Body of Christ suffers, we all suffer, we prayed together for healing and forgiveness."
Only one week later, he continued, "where the newly restored Cathedral of Notre Dame stands as an iconic reminder to our belief in the importance of the Mass, which makes spiritually present to us the Last Supper, nearly 1 billion men, women and children, in person and through live telecast, witnessed the public mockery of the Mass, the 'source and summit of the Christian life.'"
"During the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics, the famous DaVinci Masterpiece The Last Supper was depicted in heinous fashion," he said, "leaving us in such shock, sorrow and righteous anger that words cannot describe it."
"Jesus experienced his Passion anew Friday night in Paris when his Last Supper was publicly defamed," he emphasized. "As his living body, we are invited to enter into this moment of passion with him, this moment of public shame, mockery, and persecution. We do this through prayer and fasting. And our greatest prayer -- in season and out of season -- is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass."
In light of the seriousness of the incident, Bishop Cozzens called on the church throughout the world to gather at Mass "with renewed zeal" and "pray for healing and forgiveness for all those who participated in this mockery."
"Let us commit ourselves this week to greater prayer and fasting in reparation for this sin," he urged. " Perhaps you could attend Mass once more this week or do an extra holy hour?"
He concluded with some advice to the faithful about discussing the incident, encouraging them to do so "with love and charity, but also with firmness."
"France and the entire world are saved by the love poured out through the Mass, which came to us through the Last Supper," he wrote. "Inspired by the many martyrs who shed their blood to witness to the truth of the Mass, we will not stand aside and quietly abide as the world mocks our greatest gift from the Lord Jesus. Rather, through our prayer and fasting, we will ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen us with the virtue of fortitude so that we may preach Christ -- our Lord and Savior, truly present in the Eucharist -- for the Glory of God and the Salvation of Souls."
The French bishops also issued a statement July 27 condemning the mockery of Christianity at the opening of the Olympic Games.
While the ceremony was a "marvelous display of beauty and joy, rich in emotion and universally acclaimed," they said, it "unfortunately included scenes of mockery and derision of Christianity, which we deeply regret." They thanked members of other religious denominations "who have expressed their solidarity with us."
Bishop Emmanuel Gobilliard of Digne, the special representative of the Holy See for the 2024 Paris Olympics, said that he was "deeply hurt" by the depiction. Many U.S. bishops took to social media to speak out against the scene and ask the faithful to pray for healing and reparation.
- - - Lauretta Brown is culture editor for OSV News. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @LaurettaBrown6.