the Last Supper

The traditional Passover meal that Jesus ate with the Apostles the night before his death. At this supper, according to the Gospels, Jesus blessed bread and broke it, telling the disciples, “Take, eat; this is my body.” He then passed a cup of wine to them, saying, “This is my blood.” Jesus' words refer to the Crucifixion he was about to suffer in order to atone for humankind's sins. He told the Apostles, “Do this in remembrance of me.”

Note: The actions of Jesus at the Last Supper are the basis for the Christian sacrament of Holy Communion, or the Eucharist, in which the faithful partake of bread and wine.

Note: The Last Supper is the subject of a famous fresco by Leonardo da Vinci, which depicts Jesus Christ and his Apostles seated along one side of a long table.