The highly controversial movie, The Da Vinci Code has held its world premiere at the 59th Cannes film festival. The divisive book, now made into a certain summer blockbuster, has drawn protests from across the world from Christians due to its content about Jesus Christ. But the team behind the book and film have remained adamant that they would not give in to protestors.

However, the head of the Catholic group Opus Dei, which has been given an image of a secretive murderous sect in the book, has said that he prays every day for author Dan Brown and the people behind the film.

Bishop Javier Echevarria Rodriguez said in an interview that he believed The Da Vinci’s success showed how modern society needed proper spiritual and religious education.

"I pray every day for the writer and also for those people who made the film, because they may not realise that what they say could hurt people and that they are blaspheming," Echevarria told the Catholic newspaper La Croix.

"This phenomenon shows that our society has a great need for transcendence and for aspirations for the beyond. But people will be disappointed because the book and the film do not meet their expectations.

"We see how important religious and spiritual education is. Our contemporaries seem ready to believe just anything. The loss of faith always leads to superstition."

The film, which has angered Christian groups with its story that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had a child with her, received a cold reception from critics at a press screening on Tuesday evening before its opening at the Cannes Film Festival.

A key figure in the story is an Opus Dei member, the murderous and masochistic albino monk Silas. However, in real life, the group has no monks.