AP PHOTOS: Holy Week celebrations around the world

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AP PHOTOS: Holy Week celebrations around the world

2025-04-19 14:51 Last Updated At：15:13

Christians are celebrating Holy Week with processions and reenactments in places like Jerusalem, Brazil, Nigeria, India, Mexico and Philippines.

The week between Palm Sunday and Easter, known as Holy Week, is the most sacred time of the year for Christians, when the faithful commemorate the passion of Jesus.

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People watch a Holy Week procession in Havana, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A penitent knows as a "cucurucho" joins a Way of the Cross procession during Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Christian pilgrims carry crosses during a Holy Week procession at the Old City of Jerusalem on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Catholic worshippers hold candles as they take part in a procession following a path believed to be taken when Jesus was arrested and brought to trial, during the Holy Week, outside the Old City of Jerusalem, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Members of the St Francis Catholic Church take part in a Way of the Cross re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ during Holy Week in Lagos, Nigeria, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

A penitent depicting the role of Jesus Christ is crowned by a fellow devotees playing the role of Roman soldiers, during the Via Crucis or Way of the Cross reenactment in Panama City, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A penitent depicting the role of Jesus Christ is whipped by a fellow devotee playing the role of a Roman soldier, during a Way of the Cross reenactment, as part of Holy Week celebrations in the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Actors reenact the crucifixion of Jesus during a Way of The Cross procession during Holy Week in Atyra, Paraguay, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Faithful watch a 'Santa Genoveva' brotherhood Holy Week procession in Seville, Spain, Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Faithful watch a Holy Week procession by the penitents from the 'San Gonzalo' brotherhood in Seville, Spain, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Orthodox believers visit Bachkovo Monastery during the Holy Thursday liturgy in Bachkovo, Bulgaria, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)

Seen through a public bus window, a penitent depicting the role of Jesus Christ, carries a cross during the Via Crucis or Way of the Cross reenactment in Panama City, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Luiz Henrique, playing the role of Jesus Christ, hangs on a cross during a Way of the Cross reenactment as part of Holy Week celebrations, at the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Worshipers react in tears while looking at the Christ of 'El Cerro' brotherhood as they process through the streets of Seville, during Holy Week in Spain, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Penitents take part in the Procession of Souls during Holy Week in Goias, Brazil, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

A masked penitent in chains holds out his arms to have cacti attached to his arm, before taking part in a Holy Week procession in Atlixco, Mexico, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

A masked penitent in chains with cacti attached to his arms takes part in a Holy Week procession in Atlixco, Mexico, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Tzotziles Indigenous men prepare to take part in a Holy Week procession, at the San Lorenzo Martir Church in Zinacantan, Chiapas State, Mexico, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Isabel Mateos)

A man cuts the back of a penitent using a blade as he prepares to flagellate himself during Holy Week in Kalayaan town, Laguna province, Philippines, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Children leave after posing for a photo with Iraq-born Archbishop Datev Hagopian during a Maundy Thursday religious service, at the Armenian Cathedral in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A member of a brotherhood performs in a Way of the Cross reenactment in Pachacamac, Peru, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Members of the Danza Señor San Jose dance group perform behind El Santuario De Chimayo in Northern New Mexico during Holy Week on Good Friday, Chimayo, N.M., April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Roberto E. Rosales)

A penitent flagellates himself during a Holy Week event in Kalayaan town, Laguna province, Philippines, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A parishioner leaves the Santuario de la Virgen de Lourdes after prayers during Holy Week in Santiago, Chile, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

An actor portraying Jesus Christ carries a cross during a Way of the Cross reenactment during Holy Week celebrations in the Kibera informal settlement of Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Faithful attend the Way of the Cross procession, inside the Colosseum in Rome, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Catholics attend a Holy Week procession in Panama City's Casco Viejo, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A penitent holds his six-month-old son during a Holy week procession in Seville, Spain, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

People are showered with flower petals are thrown from balconies during a Holy Week procession in Seville, Spain, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Catholics carry a statue of Jesus Christ at a Holy Week procession in Panama City's Casco Viejo, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A Greek Christian Orthodox priest carries a wooden cross during the service of the Holy Passion at the Patriarchal Church of St. George, in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A priest washes the foot of a parishioner during a Holy Week Mass in Luque, Paraguay, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Catholic clergymen take part in a Holy Week ceremony reenacting the funeral of Jesus Christ at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in the Old City of Jerusalem on Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A Christian woman kisses a crucifix during a Holy Week service at St. Anthony Church in Lahore, Pakistan, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Ethiopian Orthodox Christian worshippers visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the place where Christians believe Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected, in the Old City of Jerusalem on Holy Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Performers dressed as Roman soldiers walk around town as they reenact the passion and sufferings of Jesus Christ as part of their lenten practice to mark Maundy Thursday, April 17, 2025 in Paete town, Laguna province, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A priest blesses people with water before a Palm Sunday Mass at the sanctuary in Luque, Paraguay, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Claudio Armando Ramirez plays the role of Jesus Christ during a Palm Sunday Passion Play at the San Lucas de Iztapalapa parish in Mexico City, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Christian pilgrims carry crosses during a Holy Week procession in the Old City of Jerusalem on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A member of the St Francis Catholic Church holds a rosary as they take part in a Way of the Cross re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ during Holy Week in Lagos, Nigeria, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Christians reenact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in Guwahati, India, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Luiz Henrique, playing the role of Jesus Christ, carries a cross during a Way of the Cross reenactment as part of Holy Week celebrations, at the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

More Images

People watch a Holy Week procession in Havana, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A penitent knows as a "cucurucho" joins a Way of the Cross procession during Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Christian pilgrims carry crosses during a Holy Week procession at the Old City of Jerusalem on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Catholic worshippers hold candles as they take part in a procession following a path believed to be taken when Jesus was arrested and brought to trial, during the Holy Week, outside the Old City of Jerusalem, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Members of the St Francis Catholic Church take part in a Way of the Cross re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ during Holy Week in Lagos, Nigeria, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

A penitent depicting the role of Jesus Christ is crowned by a fellow devotees playing the role of Roman soldiers, during the Via Crucis or Way of the Cross reenactment in Panama City, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A penitent depicting the role of Jesus Christ is whipped by a fellow devotee playing the role of a Roman soldier, during a Way of the Cross reenactment, as part of Holy Week celebrations in the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Actors reenact the crucifixion of Jesus during a Way of The Cross procession during Holy Week in Atyra, Paraguay, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Faithful watch a 'Santa Genoveva' brotherhood Holy Week procession in Seville, Spain, Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Faithful watch a Holy Week procession by the penitents from the 'San Gonzalo' brotherhood in Seville, Spain, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Orthodox believers visit Bachkovo Monastery during the Holy Thursday liturgy in Bachkovo, Bulgaria, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)

Seen through a public bus window, a penitent depicting the role of Jesus Christ, carries a cross during the Via Crucis or Way of the Cross reenactment in Panama City, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Luiz Henrique, playing the role of Jesus Christ, hangs on a cross during a Way of the Cross reenactment as part of Holy Week celebrations, at the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Worshipers react in tears while looking at the Christ of 'El Cerro' brotherhood as they process through the streets of Seville, during Holy Week in Spain, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Penitents take part in the Procession of Souls during Holy Week in Goias, Brazil, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

A masked penitent in chains holds out his arms to have cacti attached to his arm, before taking part in a Holy Week procession in Atlixco, Mexico, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

A masked penitent in chains with cacti attached to his arms takes part in a Holy Week procession in Atlixco, Mexico, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Tzotziles Indigenous men prepare to take part in a Holy Week procession, at the San Lorenzo Martir Church in Zinacantan, Chiapas State, Mexico, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Isabel Mateos)

A man cuts the back of a penitent using a blade as he prepares to flagellate himself during Holy Week in Kalayaan town, Laguna province, Philippines, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Children leave after posing for a photo with Iraq-born Archbishop Datev Hagopian during a Maundy Thursday religious service, at the Armenian Cathedral in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A member of a brotherhood performs in a Way of the Cross reenactment in Pachacamac, Peru, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Members of the Danza Señor San Jose dance group perform behind El Santuario De Chimayo in Northern New Mexico during Holy Week on Good Friday, Chimayo, N.M., April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Roberto E. Rosales)

A penitent flagellates himself during a Holy Week event in Kalayaan town, Laguna province, Philippines, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A parishioner leaves the Santuario de la Virgen de Lourdes after prayers during Holy Week in Santiago, Chile, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

An actor portraying Jesus Christ carries a cross during a Way of the Cross reenactment during Holy Week celebrations in the Kibera informal settlement of Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Faithful attend the Way of the Cross procession, inside the Colosseum in Rome, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Catholics attend a Holy Week procession in Panama City's Casco Viejo, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A penitent holds his six-month-old son during a Holy week procession in Seville, Spain, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

People are showered with flower petals are thrown from balconies during a Holy Week procession in Seville, Spain, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Catholics carry a statue of Jesus Christ at a Holy Week procession in Panama City's Casco Viejo, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A Greek Christian Orthodox priest carries a wooden cross during the service of the Holy Passion at the Patriarchal Church of St. George, in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A priest washes the foot of a parishioner during a Holy Week Mass in Luque, Paraguay, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Catholic clergymen take part in a Holy Week ceremony reenacting the funeral of Jesus Christ at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in the Old City of Jerusalem on Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A Christian woman kisses a crucifix during a Holy Week service at St. Anthony Church in Lahore, Pakistan, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Ethiopian Orthodox Christian worshippers visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the place where Christians believe Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected, in the Old City of Jerusalem on Holy Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Performers dressed as Roman soldiers walk around town as they reenact the passion and sufferings of Jesus Christ as part of their lenten practice to mark Maundy Thursday, April 17, 2025 in Paete town, Laguna province, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A priest blesses people with water before a Palm Sunday Mass at the sanctuary in Luque, Paraguay, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Claudio Armando Ramirez plays the role of Jesus Christ during a Palm Sunday Passion Play at the San Lucas de Iztapalapa parish in Mexico City, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Christian pilgrims carry crosses during a Holy Week procession in the Old City of Jerusalem on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A member of the St Francis Catholic Church holds a rosary as they take part in a Way of the Cross re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ during Holy Week in Lagos, Nigeria, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Christians reenact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in Guwahati, India, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Luiz Henrique, playing the role of Jesus Christ, carries a cross during a Way of the Cross reenactment as part of Holy Week celebrations, at the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, on Good Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

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Buddhist monks and their dog captivate Americans while walking for peace

A group of Buddhist monks and their rescue dog are striding single file down country roads and highways across the South, captivating Americans nationwide and inspiring droves of locals to greet them along their route.

In their flowing saffron and ocher robes, the men are walking for peace. It's a meditative tradition more common in South Asian countries, and it's resonating now in the U.S., seemingly as a welcome respite from the conflict, trauma and politics dividing the nation.

Their journey began Oct. 26, 2025, at a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Texas, and is scheduled to end in mid-February in Washington, D.C., where they will ask Congress to recognize Buddha’s day of birth and enlightenment as a federal holiday. Beyond promoting peace, their highest priority is connecting with people along the way.

“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” said the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group’s soft-spoken leader who is making the trek barefoot. He teaches about mindfulness, forgiveness and healing at every stop.

Preferring to sleep each night in tents pitched outdoors, the monks have been surprised to see their message transcend ideologies, drawing huge crowds into churchyards, city halls and town squares across six states. Documenting their journey on social media, they — and their dog, Aloka — have racked up millions of followers online. On Saturday, thousands thronged in Columbia, South Carolina, where the monks chanted on the steps of the State House and received a proclamation from the city's mayor, Daniel Rickenmann.

At their stop Thursday in Saluda, South Carolina, Audrie Pearce joined the crowd lining Main Street. She had driven four hours from her village of Little River, and teared up as Pannakara handed her a flower.

“There’s something traumatic and heart-wrenching happening in our country every day,” said Pearce, who describes herself as spiritual, but not religious. “I looked into their eyes and I saw peace. They’re putting their bodies through such physical torture and yet they radiate peace.”

Hailing from Theravada Buddhist monasteries across the globe, the 19 monks began their 2,300 mile (3,700 kilometer) trek at the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth.

Their journey has not been without peril. On Nov. 19, as the monks were walking along U.S. Highway 90 near Dayton, Texas, their escort vehicle was hit by a distracted truck driver, injuring two monks. One of them lost his leg, reducing the group to 18.

This is Pannakara's first trek in the U.S., but he's walked across several South Asian countries, including a 112-day journey across India in 2022 where he first encountered Aloka, an Indian Pariah dog whose name means divine light in Sanskrit.

Then a stray, the dog followed him and other monks from Kolkata in eastern India all the way to the Nepal border. At one point, he fell critically ill and Pannakara scooped him up in his arms and cared for him until he recovered. Now, Aloka inspires him to keep going when he feels like giving up.

“I named him light because I want him to find the light of wisdom,” Pannakara said.

The monk's feet are now heavily bandaged because he's stepped on rocks, nails and glass along the way. His practice of mindfulness keeps him joyful despite the pain from these injuries, he said.

Still, traversing the southeast United States has presented unique challenges, and pounding pavement day after day has been brutal.

“In India, we can do shortcuts through paddy fields and farms, but we can’t do that here because there are a lot of private properties,” Pannakara said. “But what’s made it beautiful is how people have welcomed and hosted us in spite of not knowing who we are and what we believe.”

In Opelika, Alabama, the Rev. Patrick Hitchman-Craig hosted the monks on Christmas night at his United Methodist congregation.

He expected to see a small crowd, but about 1,000 people showed up, creating the feel of a block party. The monks seemed like the Magi, he said, appearing on Christ’s birthday.

“Anyone who is working for peace in the world in a way that is public and sacrificial is standing close to the heart of Jesus, whether or not they share our tradition,” said Hitchman-Craig. “I was blown away by the number of people and the diversity of who showed up.”

After their night on the church lawn, the monks arrived the next afternoon at the Collins Farm in Cusseta, Alabama. Judy Collins Allen, whose father and brother run the farm, said about 200 people came to meet the monks — the biggest gathering she’s ever witnessed there.

“There was a calm, warmth and sense of community among people who had not met each other before and that was so special,” she said.

Long Si Dong, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth temple, said the monks, when they arrive in Washington, plan to seek recognition of Vesak, the day which marks the birth and enlightenment of the Buddha, as a national holiday.

“Doing so would acknowledge Vesak as a day of reflection, compassion and unity for all people regardless of faith,” he said.

But Pannakara emphasized that their main goal is to help people achieve peace in their lives. The trek is also a separate endeavor from a $200 million campaign to build towering monuments on the temple’s 14-acre property to house the Buddha’s teachings engraved in stone, according to Dong.

The monks practice and teach Vipassana meditation, an ancient Indian technique taught by the Buddha himself as core for attaining enlightenment. It focuses on the mind-body connection — observing breath and physical sensations to understand reality, impermanence and suffering. Some of the monks, including Pannakara, walk barefoot to feel the ground directly and be present in the moment.

Pannakara has told the gathered crowds that they don't aim to convert people to Buddhism.

Brooke Schedneck, professor of religion at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, said the tradition of a peace walk in Theravada Buddhism began in the 1990s when the Venerable Maha Ghosananda, a Cambodian monk, led marches across war-torn areas riddled with landmines to foster national healing after civil war and genocide in his country.

“These walks really inspire people and inspire faith,” Schedneck said. “The core intention is to have others watch and be inspired, not so much through words, but through how they are willing to make this sacrifice by walking and being visible.”

On Thursday, Becki Gable drove nearly 400 miles (about 640 kilometers) from Cullman, Alabama, to catch up with them in Saluda. Raised Methodist, Gable said she wanted some release from the pain of losing her daughter and parents.

“I just felt in my heart that this would help me have peace,” she said. “Maybe I could move a little bit forward in my life.”

Gable says she has already taken one of Pannakara’s teachings to heart. She’s promised herself that each morning, as soon as she awakes, she’d take a piece of paper and write five words on it, just as the monk prescribed.

“Today is my peaceful day.”

Freelance photojournalist Allison Joyce contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.