When Father James DeGrassa posted a photo on Instagram of himself posing with LeBron James in front of the altar at his parish just north of Philadelphia, he knew his parishioners would get that it was a joke and that the photo was just an AI-generated fake, he told the Register.
What Father DeGrassa couldn’t have imagined is that the post would soon go viral, reaching 4 million people, most of whom were not familiar with the Philadelphia native’s sense of humor.
The day before, the sports-mad city had greeted the news that the NBA great would be signing with the Philadelphia 76ers in predictable fashion: Everyone went nuts. On social media, AI photos of James patronizing local businesses were everywhere.
“I started seeing everybody posting pictures of him. ‘Oh, he’s at our deli,’ or ‘Oh, he’s having our cheesesteak,’” the pastor of Queen of Peace Catholic Church explained.
For Father DeGrassa, it was an opportunity. “I jumped on the hype.”
Why not capitalize on the LeBron James fever, he reasoned, to get people to come to Mass?
On Friday, after James announced he would finish his career in Philadelphia, Father DeGrassa changed the sign outside the church to read,
