Does a video circulating on social media show thousands of Christians in France gathered to pray after the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony purportedly mocked Jesus? No, that's not true: The video shows people gathered in Rosary Square in Lourdes, France, on August 14, 2022 -- the eve of the annual Feast of the Assumption. This video does not show a gathering related to the 2024 Paris Olympics or to the opening ceremony.
The video surfaced on Instagram in a post (archived here) on July 29, 2024. Its caption included many hashtags:
jesusthegreatawakening
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@bobbythedisciple Thousands of Christians in France gathered together in a breathtaking display of faith and unity. #olympics #jesus #pray #god #jesuslovesyou yo they love Jesus that much#finaltrumpet#iamtherealjesuschrist#mynameisyahweh#jesusthegreatawakening#bornilluminati#notilluminati#christianswakeup#yahweh#jesus#yeshua#elohim#jesusfinaljudgement#sodomandgomorrah
Text captioning on the video reads:
BREAKING
THOUSANDS OF CHRISTIANS IN FRANCE GATHERED TO PRAY AFTER OLYMPICS OPENING MOCKED JESUS CHRIST🙏
(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Mon Jul 29 20:03:59 2024 UTC)
As this video was filmed almost two years ago, it's not related to the 2024 Olympics. This torchlight procession occurred on the eve of the Feast of the Assumption, an annual spiritual holiday, officially defined in 1950. This holy day is celebrated on August 15 by Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches.
This video clip was posted on X (archived here) on August 14, 2022, by the Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Lourdes (the sanctuary is comprised of three basilicas, one being the La basilique Notre-Dame du Rosaire, where the video was filmed). The post's caption, translated from French by Google, reads:
Beautiful and happy Feast of the Assumption to all.
In union of prayer with all Catholics of the world. May the Virgin Mary shine in your hearts 🙏
(Source: X screenshot taken on Mon Jul 29 20:03:59 2024 UTC)
Torchlight processions, called Marian Processions, take place daily at this pilgrimage site, but notable features in this video (pictured below) make it identifiable and unique. As the video begins, at the bottom edge, three people can be seen at the front of the crowd casting long shadows as they make their way to find a seat. At the bottom on the right, a person in a blue jacket stands with a large illuminated cross. Both videos are the same, but the copy posted on Instagram has a false caption.
(Source: Lead Stories composite image with Instagram and X screenshots taken on Mon Jul 29 21:58:48 2024 UTC)
At the time this was written, the claim had been reviewed by the fact checking organization indiatoday.com. This same video appeared in another fact check by Fact Crescendo on July 8, 2023, in regards to a claim that this shows a gathering to pray for France to become Christian again.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks on claims about the 2024 Paris Olympics can be found here.
