From dressing as Roman soldiers in Antigua, Guatemala, to carrying palm fronds on the streets of Lagos, Nigeria, Christians around the world are celebrating Holy Week.
Christians pause along the Via Dolorosa, a route that is believed to be the path Jesus walked to his crucifixion, on Good Friday in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Friday, 7th April, 2023. PICTURE: AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo.
For millions of Christians, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter, known as Holy Week, is the most sacred time of the year. It’s the week Christians commemorate the passion of Jesus Christ.
A view of the Palm Sunday’s mass celebrated by Pope Francis in St Peter’s Square at The Vatican on Sunday, 2nd April, 2023 a day after being discharged from the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, where he has been treated for bronchitis, The Vatican said. PICTURE: AP Photo/Andrew Medichini.
The week began with Palm Sunday, where mass at the Vatican was celebrated by Pope Francis in St Peter’s Square the day after he was discharged from the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, where the Vatican said he was treated for bronchitis.
Faithful dressed as Roman soldiers take part in a Holy Thursday procession outside the San Cristobal el Bajo Catholic church, in Antigua, Guatemala, on Thursday, 6th April, 2023. PICTURE: AP Photo/Moises Castillo.
In Bolivia’s highland region, artists gathered for an annual event where they built sand sculptures based on Bible stories. Members of the faithful in Brazil wore tunics and hoods to take part in the Procession of Souls in Goiás state. And in Managua, Nicaragua, a child dressed as an angel during an event observing Good Friday, during which a masked worshipper held a religious banner depicting Jesus Christ on a cross.
Catholic nuns hold candles during the Holy Thursday procession at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Thursday, 6th April, 2023. PICTURE: AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo.
Half a world away, Catholic nuns held candles during a Holy Thursday procession at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem. It’s the site where Jesus was crucified and buried according to tradition. Celebrations in Haiti included a Stations of the Cross reenactment in Port-au-Prince on Good Friday. In Spain, worshippers carried a portable dais platform supporting a statue of the Virgin Mary through the streets of Seville.
Penitents of the “Padre Jesus Nazareno” brotherhood carry a portable dais platform which supports a statue of Jesus Christ carried by “costaleros”during the holy week procession in Priego de Cordoba, southern Spain, on Friday, 7th April, 2023. Hundreds of processions take place throughout Spain during the Easter Holy Week. PICTURE: AP Photo/Manu Fernandez.
In recent years, Holy Week has been scaled back due to COVID-19 restrictions that require precautions such as social distancing and mask use. However, this year many of the faithful gathered in celebrations reminiscent of the era before the virus changed the nature of religious observance.
Faithful carry a cross to the Árbol de la Vida or Tree of Life during a Good Friday procession in the hills of the Ciudad Bolivar neighbourhood of Bogota, Colombia, on Friday, 7th April, 2023. Holy Week commemorates the last week of the earthly life of Jesus Christ culminating in his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. PICTURE: AP Photo/Ivan Valencia.
This year’s Holy Week was a year for gathering together in prayer.
The Passion of Jesus is performed to crowds in Trafalgar Square, London, Friday, on 7th April, 2023 on Good Friday by actors from the Wintershall Players. PICTURE: Aaron Chown/PA via AP.
