Athletes in Paris proclaim their faith after the parody of the Last Supper at the 2024 Olympic Games

The controversial parody of the Last Supper starring drag queens during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games has generated massive rejection led by Catholic faithful, associations, Church authorities and other personalities.

Besides the campaign which already has eighty thousand supports to sanction the organizers for “mocking Christians” and the voices of bishops and cardinals from different countries against this mockery of the Catholic Church, there have been several athletes who have shown their faith during the first days of the Olympics.

“Jesus is the way, the truth and the life”

The Olympic champion of skate from Brazil, Rayssa Lea, showed her faith after winning the bronze medal in these Olympic Games.

In sign language, the 16-year-old evangelical girl expressed that “Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.”

In this way, as specified ACI Digital —an agency in Portuguese of the EWTN News group—, the athlete circumvented the ban on transmitting religious messages during the Olympic Games.

Specifically, the standard 50 of the Olympic Charter establishes that “no type of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda will be allowed in any place, venue or area that is considered Olympic.”

For this reason, the young athlete used sign language, in which Jesus is represented with the gesture of nails in both hands. In addition, Rayssa Leal wore a cross-shaped pendant, which she kissed before entering the track.

It should be noted that Brazilian surfer João Chianca was prohibited from using his boards with images of Christ the Redeemer, the emblematic image of Rio de Janeiro, according to ACI Digital.

The cross of tennis player Novak Djokovic

Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic also wanted to send a message to the world during the first of his matches by showing the cross he has hanging around his neck.

It is not the first time that the athlete shows his faith in public. In fact, in 2019, he assured that “before being an athlete, I am an Orthodox Christian.”

In recent months, a notable increase in manifestations of the Catholic faith in the sporting field has been seen.

During the Olympic Games it is common to see athletes make the sign of the cross before competing or dedicate their victories to God, as happened in the recent European Football Championship, where players and coaches, especially that of the Spanish teamhave publicly shown their faith.

Call to pray the Rosary

A group of French Catholics launched a call on social networks for the public prayer of the Holy Rosary next Friday, August 2 at 4:00 p.m. (local time), in reparation for the blasphemy at the opening of the Olympic Games.