Pope Leo XIV at Mass of the Lord's Supper at the Basilica of St. John Lteran

 

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Pope Leo: 'We are called to serve the People of God with our whole lives'

Celebrating the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday evening in the Papal Basilica of St. John Lateran, Pope Leo XIV tells his brother priests that they are to serve the Lord by giving all of their lives to the People of God, and stresses that in this time of great brutality around the world, we, too, are to kneel alongside the oppressed and all in need.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

“In this world, and particularly in those places where evil abounds, Jesus loves definitively — forever, and with His whole being.”

Pope Leo XIV gave this powerful reminder on Holy Thursday evening during the Mass in Coena Domini at the Papal Basilica of St. John Lateran.

READ POPE LEO'S FULL HOMILY HERE

In his homily, the Pope recalled that the evening’s solemn liturgy marks their entry into the Holy Triduum of the Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection. 

The Lord kneels to wash each one of us

“Out of love,” Pope Leo emphasized as he reflected on the Lord’s washing of His Apostles' feet, “the Lord kneels to wash each one of us, and His divine gift transforms us.”

What the Lord shows us, in taking the water, the basin and towel, he noted, is "far more than a moral example," but is His entrusting to us "His very way of life," 

He stressed that the washing of the feet is a gesture that encapsulates the revelation of God.

By Jesus taking on the condition of a servant, the Holy Father noted, He reveals the Father’s glory, "overturning the worldly standards that so often distort our conscience."

'We are called to serve the People of God with our whole lives'

Pope Leo quoted Benedict XVI, who in his 2008 Homily for the Mass of the Lord's Supper, suggested that we, like Peter who at first resisted Jesus’ initiative, too must learn repeatedly that God’s greatness is different from our idea of greatness.

Benedict, Leo said, acknowledged that we are always tempted to seek a God who “serves” us, or grants us victory in some way, with us often failing to perceive that God does indeed serve us through the gratuitous and humble gesture of washing feet.

As the Pope reflected on the Lord's washing of the feet and the institution of the Eucharist with the breaking of the bread, he reminded that Jesus' gesture shows Him giving all of Himself, as priests are called to do with their whole being.

"Beloved brothers in the priesthood," the Pope would go on to say, "we are called to serve the People of God with our whole lives."

"Through Bishops and priests, constituted as priests of the New Covenant, according to the Lord’s command," the Pope said, "there is made present the sign of His charity towards the whole People of God."

Lord's love precedes our goodness

The Holy Father reminded that the Lord’s love precedes our own goodness or purity.

"He loves us first, and in that love, he forgives and restores us," Pope Leo said, stressing, "His love is not a reward for our acceptance of His mercy; instead, He loves us, and therefore cleanses us, thereby enabling us to respond to His love."

The Pope called on priests to learn from Jesus this reciprocal service, Who, he reminded, "does not ask us to repay Him, but to share His gift among ourselves."

He told priests that the necessary condition for serving as the Lord did, is for priests to allow themselves to be served by the Lord, for Christ said, "Unless you accept me as your servant, you cannot truly believe in me or follow me as Lord."  

As humanity is brought to its knees

In Him, God, the Pope said, has given us an example, on how not to dominate, but to liberate, and not of how to destroy life, but to give it.

"As humanity is brought to its knees by so many acts of brutality, let us too kneel down as brothers and sisters alongside the oppressed." 

In this way, he said, we seek to follow the Lord’s example, who has offered the perfect self-gift of Himself.

Thus, the Pope insisted, Holy Thursday is a day of fervent gratitude and authentic fraternity.  "May this evening’s Eucharistic adoration, in every parish and community, be a time to contemplate Jesus’ gesture, kneeling as he did, and to ask for the strength to imitate His service with the same love."

Continuing tradition

Continuing the tradition of Christ, Pope Leo during the Mass washed the feet of twelve priests.

The priests were Fr. Andrea Alessi, Fr. Gabriele Di Menno Di Bucchianico, Fr. Renzo Chiesa, Fr. Francesco Melone, Fr. Clody Merfalen, Fr. Federico Pelosio, Fr. Marco Petrolo, Fr. Pietro Hieu Nguyen Huai, Fr. Matteo Renzi, Fr. Giuseppe Terranova, Fr. Simone Troilo, and Fr. Enrico Maria Trusiani, eleven of whom were ordained by Pope Leo last year. Fr. Chiesa was the twelfth, who was not ordained by Pope Leo, but is spiritual director of the Pontifical Roman Major Seminary.

Pope Leo in prayer before Blessed Sacrament in the place of repose (@Vatican Media)

At the end of the liturgy, the Pope carried the Blessed Sacrament to the place of repose, in the Chapel of Saint Francis

Pope Leo XIV presides at the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday Morning

 

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Pope at Chrism Mass: Priests must spread Christ’s peace where death reigns

At the Chrism Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV invites priests, bishops, and all Christians to embrace their challenges with trust in God and “spread the fragrance of Christ where the stench of death reigns.”

By Devin Watkins

Pope Leo XIV presided at the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday in St. Peter’s Basilica, joined by hundreds of bishops and priests who renewed the promises they made at their ordination.

In his first homily for the Chrism Mass as the Bishop of Rome, the Pope reflected on the mission to which God calls every Christian, which he said is the very same mission as that of Jesus.

“Each of us takes part in it according to our own vocation in a deeply personal obedience to the voice of the Spirit, yet never without others, never neglecting or breaking communion!” he said.

Ahead of the Easter Triduum, which begins with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper later on Holy Thursday, Pope Leo said the culmination of the Christian liturgical year has the power to transform human pride, heal wounds, reconcile us, and gather us together.

Pope Leo celebrates Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday   (@Vatican Media)

The Holy Father went on to reflect on three aspects of the Christian mission: detachment, encounter, and the possibility of misunderstanding and rejection.

As members of Christ’s Body, Christians—and especially ordained ministers—are sent out in service of His people, which requires us to leave behind attachments that are familiar and certain so that we can venture into something new.

“There is no mission without reconciliation with our past, with the gifts and limitations of the upbringing we have received,” he said. “But, at the same time, there is no peace without setting out, no awareness without detachment, no joy without risk.”

In self-emptying, we discover a fundamental secret of mission, which is that everything we let go of is given back to us multiplied in ways we cannot imagine.

Pope Leo XIV then spoke about “the law of encounter,” which he said has often been distorted historically by a desire for domination.

“It is now a priority to remember that neither in the pastoral sphere nor in the social and political spheres can good come from abuse of power,” he said.

Many great missionaries have borne witness, he said, to “quiet, unobtrusive approaches, whose method is the sharing of life, selfless service, the renunciation of any calculated strategy, dialogue and respect.”

The Holy Spirit makes Jesus present to His priests, working harder and better than they do and teaching them to welcome and follow Christ, he said.

“To establish this harmony with the transcendent,” he said, “we must go where we are sent with simplicity, respecting the mystery that every person and every community carry within them.”

Christians are guests, wherever they are, added the Pope, noting that in places where secularization has taken hold, we must learn to learn ways to communicate the Gospel of Jesus effectively.

Pope Leo then turned to the possibility of being misunderstood or rejected, which he said is the most radical element of the Christian mission.

Accepting the cross is an essential part of mission and has the power to bring true transformation to society and ourselves.

“The imperialist occupation of the world is thus disrupted from within; the violence that until now has been the law is unmasked,” he said. “The poor, imprisoned, rejected Messiah descends into the darkness of death, yet in so doing he brings a new creation to light.”

Even when we experience failure or our own shortcomings, we must learn to trust that God’s grace will help us to face unforeseen circumstances, as the saints have before us.

In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV urged Christians to overcome any sense of powerlessness or fear as we proclaim Christ’s death and resurrection.

“In this dark hour of history,” he said, “it has pleased God to send us to spread the fragrance of Christ where the stench of death reigns. Let us renew our ‘yes’ to this mission that calls for unity and brings peace.”

Archbishop Aymond speaks out about Olympics blasphemy

 

A Message from the Archbishop Gregory Aymond, Archbishop of New Orleans

Words cannot fully express my shock and anger upon watching the depiction of “The Last Supper” during the Olympic Opening Ceremonies. A week earlier, thousands had united in prayer and adoration before the Eucharist, asking the Lord to heal and forgive our sins. Then, seven days later, nearly 1 billion people across the world witnessed the public mockery of the Mass. It is our duty as Christians to respond to this profound evil, and we should do so with love and charity. As we are told in the Gospels, some demons are cast out only through prayer and fasting. I ask all believers to pray and fast in reparation for this sin.

Was it really an apology for the parody of the Last Supper?

 

Paris Olympic Committee makes soft apology for Last Supper drag parody

By Elise Ann Allen

Jul 29, 2024

Drag queen Piche prepares to perform at the Debilly Bridge in Paris during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Credit: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP.)

ROME – Representatives of the Paris 2024 Olympics Committee have apologized to anyone offended by a drag parody of the Last Supper during the opening ceremony, insisting that their intention was to foster inclusion and celebrate diversity.

Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps was asked about the outcry during an International Olympic Committee news conference Sunday, saying in response, “Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group.”

“On the contrary, I think (with) Thomas Jolly, we really did try to celebrate community tolerance,” she said, adding, “Looking at the result of the polls that we shared, we believe that this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense we are, of course, really, really sorry.”

Thomas Jolly, the ceremony’s artistic director, in his own remarks to the Associated Press about the event said it was meant to celebrate diversity and pay tribute to feasting and French gastronomy.

“My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock,” he said, saying, “Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide.”

The apology was made in response to a wave of backlash from Catholics, members of other Christian communities, atheists, and members of other faith groups to the July 26 opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics, which featured a group of scantily clad men in drag dancing provocatively while parodying the Last Supper.

At one point, the genitalia of a man wearing short black hotpants was exposed while a little girl stood in front of him, in front of what was supposed to be the table.

Catholic leaders from around the world, including the French bishops conference and two Vatican officials, condemned the incident, with at least one, Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta and adjunct secretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, making a formal complaint to the French ambassador to Malta, encouraging others to do the same.

Some commentators in the wake of the controversy, including Jolly, have claimed that the performance was evocative of the feast of Dionysus, rather than the Last Supper, as a nod to the Greek roots of the Olympic games.

However, the artists who participated in the parody have confirmed in online social media posts and in comments to the press that the performance was, in fact, intended to imitate Leonardo da Vinci’s famed painting of the Last Supper.

Franch drag queen and rapper Piche from the show Drag Race France spoke to French media, saying the intention was to create a tableau of the Last Supper in the pouring rain.

“I received a lot of messages of support and people who were very happy that I was there and very surprised that there were drag queens at the opening ceremony,” he said, saying the opposition to the performance indicates that “we’ve succeeded and we’ve done what had to be done, that we’ve been fair and representative.”

“Art always divides. As long as it doesn’t move people, it’s not art for me,” he said, saying the depiction of the Last Supper “is not a provocation. It’s a biblical representation that has been reused in pop culture for decades and it’s never really been a problem.”

“There were no real provocations or anything that was truly obscene. We didn’t make fun of the painting at all … it’s really just because it’s queers and drag queens who use that representation that it bothers,” he said.

Similarly, Barbara Butch, a lesbian who donned a silver headdress and low-cut dress while portraying the figure of Jesus in the Last Supper parody, said the opening ceremony was intended to bring people together.

According to her Instagram profile, Butch is “a Love activist, Dj and producer based in Paris. My aim is to unite people, gather humans & share love through music for all of Us to dance & make our hearts beat (in unison)! Music sounds better with all of Us!”

Butch posted an image of the drag parody of the Last Supper above an image of Da Vinci’s original painting to her Instagram account with the comment, “Oh yes! Oh yes! The new gay testament!” The post was subsequently deleted.

Despite the Olympic Committee’s apology, many Catholic leaders and commentators have said it does not go far enough and fails to make amends for the offense give to the world’s 2.6 billion Christians.

In a July 28 video published on social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, founder of the popular Word on Fire ministry which is a benefactor of Crux, criticized the apology.

Barron, who had previously published a video condemning the Last Supper parody, said Descamps’ words were “anything but an apology.”

“In fact, it’s kind of a masterpiece of woke duplicity … If they felt this is meant to mollify Christians, I would think again,” he said.

Pointing to Descamps’s assertion that they did not intend to offend any religious group, Barron said, “Give me a break.”

“We have a group of drag queens cavorting in a sexually provocative way clearly in imitation of Da Vinci’s Last Supper, which presents to the world the Last Supper of Jesus, and no disrespect was meant? Do you think anyone takes that seriously?” he said.

He also took issue with the statement that the intention was to celebrate community and tolerance, saying there is tolerance “except for those pesky 2.6 billion Christians on the planet.”

“Everyone’s welcome, everyone’s tolerated, all this lovely diversity, until you get to anyone that disagrees with your ideology, like these 2.6 billion people. So don’t give me this business about tolerance and diversity,” he said.

Referring to Descamps’s statement that their goal of celebrating tolerance was achieved, Barron asked rhetorically, “I wonder what planet they’re living on if they think that harmony and peace and all this was achieved by this clear affront to Christians.”

Barron also condemned the wording of the apology as condescending, saying the tone does not read apologetic, but rather says, “if you’re so simple minded and stupid to have been offended by this wonderful expression of French culture, well, we’re sorry about that.”

“Christians were offended because it was offensive. And it was intended to be offensive. So please don’t patronize us with this condescending remark of, ‘well, if you had any bad feelings, we’re awfully sorry about that,’” he said.

This apology will do little to satisfy Christians who were offended by the performance, he said, saying, “A real apology would be something like, ‘this was a mistake, it should never have been done, we’re sorry for it.’”

“I don’t think Christians should be mollified, I think we should keep raising our voices,” he said.

Similarly, the German Bishops’ Conference published a statement Monday saying the argument by organizers that the scene was intended to depict Greek mythology “is not convincing,” as the sequence parodying the Last Supper “was shown around 45 minutes before the mythological scene,” in which a man dressed in a revealing blue jumpsuit appeared from a serving tray as Dionisius.

“It creates associations with the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci, which shows Jesus Christ surrounded by his disciples. This obvious interpretation is supported by statements from the participating artists,” the German bishops said.

While they reiterated their respect for artistic freedom and creativity, the bishops voiced their belief that “critical comments are appropriate and necessary when the representations touch on central elements of our faith and other religions and the religious sensibilities of believers are seriously violated.”

“In the weeks ahead, we hope for events in the spirit of fair competition and peaceful understanding between peoples and cultures. From now on, the focus should be on sport and the athletes whose achievements are the very essence of the Olympic Games,” they said.

Disbelief continues over the mocking of the Last Supper at the 2024 Summer Olympics

 

Paris Olympics opening ceremony denounced by bishops and Catholics globally for mocking Christianity

Caroline De Sury — OSV News

PARIS (OSV News) — The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games—a sports festival aimed to unite all nations of the world—created shock and disbelief instead as Catholics around the world felt offended by the parody of the Last Supper, which was part of the opening ceremony.

The four-hour spectacle July 26 started with a parade of athletes down the Seine River, accompanied by music and dancing scenes on top French monuments.

Notre Dame Cathedral, still under construction prior to its Dec. 8 opening, was also featured with an extensive dance segment paying tribute to the construction workers who are rebuilding the icon of Paris following a 2019 fire. Dancers appeared to do aerial work on the scaffolding. The bells of the cathedral rang for the first time since the 2019 fire that nearly destroyed the building.

However as the show progressed, television cameras showed drag queens, one of whom wore a crown, seated at a table. The shape of the crown brought to mind a monstrance.

The scene was immediately interpreted as a parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic wall painting in Milan’s Dominican convent of the Last Supper.

The drag queen table scene was later complemented with a nude singer appearing in the middle of a fruit basket, to represent Dionysus, ancient Greece’s God of wine, with the Olympic Games official profile on X, formerly Twitter saying the depiction made us “aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.”

The French bishops issued a statement July 27 deploring the scenes 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.” “We would like to thank the members of other religious denominations who have expressed their solidarity with us,” the French bishops wrote.

“We are thinking of all the Christians on every continent who have been hurt by the outrageousness and provocation of certain scenes. We want them to understand that the Olympic celebration goes far beyond the ideological biases of a few artists,” the bishops stressed.

For the bishops, the values disseminated by sport and Olympism must contribute to the “need for unity and fraternity that our world so desperately needs, while respecting everyone’s convictions, around the sport that brings us together.”

Bishop Emmanuel Gobilliard of Digne, the special representative of the Holy See for the 2024 Paris Olympics, said that he “did not watch the whole opening ceremony,” as he was praying. “It is my priority as a priest,” he told OSV News, adding he saw part of the ceremony and “found it very beautiful with the athletes (and) the Olympic flame.”

He told OSV News however that on the morning following the ceremony, when he saw the images of the controversial scene massively shared on social media, he was “deeply hurt.”

“What shocked me most is that the freedom of spirit and tone claimed by those who set this up shouldn’t be directed against others,” Bishop Gobilliard said. “You can make fun of your own ideas, laugh at yourself, why not. But to mock the faith and religion of others in this way … is very shocking. That was my first reaction.”

He further stressed that the Olympic Games are the last place to create such divisions.

“Why there?” Bishop Gobilliard asked in a conversation with OSV News. “It is contrary to the Olympic Charter, to the dimension of unity that is present in its values, to the idea of bringing everyone together, without political and religious demonstrations. Why exclude believers and Christians? It was the last place to do that. We were to respect the spirit of the Olympic Charter. We are out of it now.”

The Olympic Charter is the codification of the fundamental principles of Olympism, and the rules and bylaws adopted by the International Olympic Committee. One of its opening points says, “The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.”

Bishop Gobilliard said that “all the Christians who watched it suffered this derision,” adding that “many Christian athletes suffered it, the IOC and its president, Thomas Bach. I don’t think he knew about it.”

The parody of the Last Supper was not the only ambiguous symbol at the opening ceremony. What also stirred controversy was a horsewoman dressed in armor, perched on a metal horse and galloping down the Seine with the Olympic flag—a scene in which some recognized St. Joan of Arc, the holy warrior who fought the English in the 15th century. But according to the organizers, it represented Sequana, the Celtic divinity who inhabited the Seine, and a symbol of resistance. Another controversial scene depicted a singer impersonating the decapitated body of Queen Marie Antoinette.

One week after “we all united around Our Eucharistic Lord” at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, the da Vinci masterpiece “was depicted in heinous fashion, leaving us in such shock, sorrow and righteous anger that words cannot describe it,” said Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, chairman of the board of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc.

“We believe that the Last Supper is united with the death of Christ on the Cross and, together with the Resurrection, these events are all one in the Paschal Mystery,” he said in a July 27 statement. “This passover, which begins at the Last Supper, is the most sacred moment in the life of Jesus.”

He called the faithful “to greater prayer and fasting in reparation for this sin,” and urged them in discussing the Last Supper depiction to do so “with love and charity, but also with firmness.”

Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, went to social media July 27 to express his outrage over what he saw at the opening ceremony. He said after coming back home from the National Eucharistic Congress, in the city he said he loves—Paris—he saw “this gross mockery of the Last Supper.”

Bishop Barron said that France, called the eldest daughter of the church, and Paris, the city of saints, “felt evidently … the right thing to do is to mock this very central moment in Christianity where Jesus in his Last Supper gives his body and blood in anticipation of the cross.”

“Would they ever dare mock Islam in a similar way?” Bishop Barron asked, saying, “We all know the answer to that.” Bishop Barron stressed that in this “deeply secularist, post-modern society,” Christians should “resist” and “make our voices heard.”

Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison, Wisconsin, encouraged in a post on X that “In reparation for the blasphemy in Paris, let’s fast and pray, renew our devotion to the Eucharist, the Sacred Heart and the Virgin Mary.”

Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, posted on X July 27 that his “vocabulary is not varied enough to find a word for the feeling in the pit of my stomach.”

He said he hasn’t “watched the Olympics in decades” and that “the agendas just use the athletes; they deserve more respect. So do people of Christian Faith.”

Politicians were also disgusted by the scene, with Catholic French member of European Parliament Marion Maréchale going on X to say: “To all the Christians of the world who are watching” the Paris ceremony and “felt insulted by this drag queen parody of the Last Supper, know that it is not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation.”

United Kingdom’s Christian groups Voice for Justice U.K. and She leads U.K. united to call for an immediate apology “outraged at Drag queen parody of the Last Supper,” they said in a July 27 statement.

“This is not acceptable. Yet again, the word ‘inclusive’ is used to justify behavior that is overtly exclusive. Such mockery is a deliberate attack on the person of Jesus Christ and a direct challenge to the faith that underpins, and lies at the heart of, Western society,” the joint statement said.

One scene of the ceremony, however, drew unanimous praise: the surprise concert by Céline Dion. Overcoming her illness, stiff person syndrome, she paid tribute to the French singer Edith Piaf, who died in 1963, by performing her “Hymne à l’amour” from the second floor of the Eiffel Tower.

“It was magnificent,” Bishop Gobilliard said. As he spoke to OSV News July 27, he was on his way to “Club France,” the headquarters of all French athletes in the northeast of Paris.

“We are now going to live the Olympic Games with enthusiasm despite all this!” he said, referring once again to the controversial scene. It “could have been a beautiful evening of unity, fraternity and communion between us,” the bishop said, adding that one “scene spoiled it all.”

Paris skies were illuminated by the Olympic cauldron that made a first flight at the Paris Games July 26. It is attached to a balloon and will fly more than 197 feet above the Tuileries gardens from sunset each evening until 2 a.m. Organizers say it is the first Olympic flame in history to be lit without the use of fossil fuels.