Video shows crowd during Christian feast, not praying after Olympics | Fact check

The claim: Video shows Christians singing in France after Olympics opening ceremony

A July 29 Threads post ( direct link , archive link ) includes a video of a crowd of people singing in unison.

“Thousands of Christians in France gathered to pray after Olympic opening mocked Jesus Christ,” reads the start of the post.

It was shared more than 300 times in two days. Other versions of the claim spread widely on TikTok and X, formerly Twitter .

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Our rating: False

The video predates the 2024 Olympic Games by nearly two years. A French religious site posted the clip to social media in August 2022, saying it showed a crowd commemorating a Christian feast.

Crowd was celebrating Virgin Mary, not praying after Olympics

The claim came amid backlash over the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on July 26. Some interpreted one of its scenes depicting the Greek god Dionysus as a mockery of "The Last Supper," a Leonardo da Vinci painting that shows Jesus Christ dining with his disciples before his crucifixion, as USA TODAY reported .

But the video in the social media posts predates the controversy by nearly two years. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in Lourdes, France, posted the clip to X on Aug. 14, 2022 .

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“Beautiful and happy Feast of the Assumption to all,” the text reads in French, according to a Google translation.

The feast commemorates the Virgin Mary’s ascension to heaven and is celebrated annually in mid-August .

USA TODAY has debunked an array of claims surrounding the Olympics, including false assertions that an image shows China’s Olympic uniform inspired by the Palestinian flag, that a volleyball player convicted of rape is playing for the US Olympic team and that Israel was “out” of the Paris Olympics in June.

USA TODAY reached out to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes and users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Newschecker also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

• Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, Aug. 14, 2022, X post

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Video shows crowd during Christian feast, not praying after Olympics | Fact check