A Christmas carols service in Sri Lanka mistakenly printed out the lyrics to gangster rapper Tupac's hit song 'Hail Mary' on thousands of its service programmes.

The unfortunate mix-up took place at the Catholic 2016 Joy to the World Festival, which was held at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka.

Instead of reflecting on the traditional Catholic prayer's message of how 'blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus' - attendees were presented with lyrics reading: 'I ain't a killer but don't push me, revenge is like the sweetest joy, Next to gettin' p***y.'

A Christmas carols service in Sri Lanka accidentally printed out the lyrics to gangster rapper Tupac's hit song 'Hail Mary' on thousands of its service programmes

Instead of the traditional Catholic prayer 'Hail Mary' - service programmes had the vitriolic lyrics to Tupac's hit 1997 song

The song 'Hail Mary' was released shortly after Tupac was shot dead in 1996. It bares no real resemblance to the Catholic prayer (Pope Francis pictured right)

Sri Lankan journalist Jithendra Antonio uploaded photographs of the carols program to his Twitter account, tagging Pope Francis and CNN.

The lyrics were printed on over 1,000 flyers for the event - which is heralded as one of the biggest carol services in the country, according to Pedestrian TV.

The event was billed by organisers as 'a fund-raiser for poverty alleviation projects jointly organised by the Archdiocese of Colombo and St. Joseph Vaz Trust.'

The Hail Mary, also known as the Ave Maria or Angelic Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer which draws inspiration from two passages in Luke's gospel.

Conversely, Tupac's hit song Hail Mary deals with the rapper's struggles with gang violence, drug dealing, sex and the afterlife.

The song was released shortly after Tupac was shot dead in 1996.

How do the Hail Mary's compare? Tupac's 1997 hit song I ain't a killer but don't push me Revenge is like the sweetest joy next to getting p***y Bow down, pray to God hoping that he's listening Seeing n***as coming for me, to my diamonds, when they glistening Now pay attention, rest in peace father I'm a ghost in these killing fields Traditional Catholic prayer Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Advertisement

The lyrics were printed on over 1,000 programmes for the event - which is heralded as one of the biggest carol services in the country