Last Supper parody at Paris Olympics sparks condemnation by Catholics

By Dilara Hamit

A parody of the Last Supper during Friday’s opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics sparked a backlash, including from Bishop Robert Barron of Minnesota.

Drag queens parodied Leonardo da Vinci’s rendition of the Last Supper, Jesus Christ’s final meal with his disciples.

In a video post on X, Barron said the act was emblematic of a “deeply secularist postmodern society” that identifies Christianity as its enemy.

Drawing from his personal affection for Paris, where he studied for three years, Barron criticized France for the "gross mockery."

He questioned why France, which has sent Catholic missionaries all over the world and whose culture of "honoring the individual and of human rights and freedom" is grounded very much in Christianity, chose to "mock the Christian faith."

He urged Christians and Catholics to not be passive, but to make their "voices heard."