Holy Week, the week preceding Easter Sunday, includes Palm Sunday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Christians all over the world gather and participate in many of the same religious ceremonies. Though the ceremonies are universal, some traditions vary from country to country and even city to city. We’ve compiled a set of images providing a look at Holy Week traditions around the world.
Here, Pope Francis leads the Palm Sunday mass, on April 9, 2017 at St. Peter's square in the Vatican. Palm Sunday is the final Sunday of Lent.
Alerto Pizzoli
Catholics take part in a procession during Palm Sunday celebration in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Jorge Cabrera / Reuters
A penitent of the Santo Cristo de la Sangre brotherhood takes part in a procession during the Holy Week in Medina Sidonia, southern Spain.
Susana Vera / Reuters
Penitents carry a weighted structure with a statue of Christ as they take part in the procession of the Cautivo brotherhood during Holy Week in Malaga,Spain.
Jon Nazca / Reuters
An Indian Christian worshipper receives Holy Communion during Palm Sunday Mass in Chennai. Palm Sunday marks the sixth and last Sunday of Lent and the beginning of Holy Week.
Arun Sankar/Getty
Penitents of "La Estrella" (The Star) brotherhood take part in a procession during Holy Week in the Andalusian capital of Seville, Spain.
Reuters
A girl poses for a photo next to traditional sawdust carpet in Leon, Nicaragua.
Oswaldo Rivas / Reuters
A layman of the Roman Catholic Church blesses palms during Palm Sunday celebrations in Bulacan, north of Manila.
Noel Celis/Getty
A woman and her baby participate in the celebration of Ash Wednesday at the cathedral in Managua. Ash Wednesday initiates Lent, which culminates in Holy Week.
Inti Ocon
A penitent of the 'La Paz' brotherhood walks to his church. Christian believers around the world mark the Holy Week of Easter in celebration of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Cristina Quicler/Getty
Faithful fancy dressed as "talciguines"--characters of the local folklore--take part in the celebration of an ancient local tradition that marks the start of Holy Week in Texistepeque, some 83 km west of San Salvador. The talciguines are devils who lash Catholic faithful to cleanse their sins.
Marvin Recinos/Getty
Two young men watch from a window as penitents from the Jesus del Via Crucis (Jesus of the Way of the Cross) brotherhood take part in a procession in Zamora, Spain. Spain celebrates holy week before Easter with processions in most Spanish towns and villages.
Pablo Blazquez Dominguez
A penitent takes part in the Palm Sunday procession of the "Estudiantes" brotherhood in Oviedo, Spain.
Eloy Alonso / Reuters
Penitents of the 'La Borriquita' brotherhood parade in Sevilla during the Holy Week.
Cristina Quicler
Women wearing traditional mantilla veils and penitents take part in the procession of the Gitanos brotherhood during Holy Week in Malaga, Spain.
Jon Nazca / Reuters
A penitent of the brotherhood "Estudiantes" dresses before the start of the Palm Sunday procession in Oviedo, Spain.
© Eloy Alonso / Reuters/Eloy Alonso / Reuters
Penitents from the Cristo de la Buena Muerte (Christ of the Good Death) brotherhood take part in a procession in the early hours of the morning in Zamora, Spain.
Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty
Catholic faithful participate in the of Ash Wednesday celebration.
Luis Robayo/Getty
Penitents of "La Estrella" (The Star) brotherhood take part in a procession during the Holy Week in the Andalusian capital of Seville, Spain.
Reuters
