Attendees of Sri Lanka's largest Christmas celebration found an unexpected surprise in the event's program – instead of the words to the 15th century Catholic prayer “Hail Mary,” the carol service printed the lyrics to Tupac Shakur's song of the same name. It wasn't long before attendees of the festival discovered the mix-up, and pictures began to circulate via social media, where they were shared thousands of times.
The mistake occurred at the Catholic Joy to the World Festival in the capital of Colombo, a popular event billed as a fundraiser for “poverty alleviation projects.” The lyrics, from Tupac's last single before his untimely death in 1996, do indeed touch on religious themes in lines like “God said he should send his one begotten son to lead the wild into the ways of the man.” But lyrics like “Mama told me never stop until I bust a nut” and “revenge is like the sweetest joy next to gettin' p*ssy” should have tipped off the carol service that they had Googled the wrong “Hail Mary.”
