Holy Week rituals around the world

Children are sprayed with holy water during Palm Sunday mass at the Saint Simon Church in Cairo on April 21, 2019.

Worshipers attend a tribute mass for Notre Dame Cathedral at the Saint Eustache Church in Paris on April 21, six days after a fire severely damaged the centuries-old church.

A priest waves a censer during the Palm Sunday procession at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, believed to be the traditional site of Jesus' resurrection, in Jerusalem on April 21.

St. Peter's Square is decorated with flowers as Pope Francis holds Easter mass at the Vatican on April 21.

Sorbs carry parish banners while riding horses during an Easter procession in Ostro on April 21. The Sorbs are a Slavic-Germany minority who sing the message of Jesus' resurrection.

Catholicos Garegin II, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, leads Easter service in Yerevan on April 21.

Shiite pilgrims light candles during a Shaabaniya ceremony to commemorate the birth of Imam al-Mahdi, a holy figure Shiite Muslims, in the city of Karbala on April 21.

Children race during an Easter egg hunt in Kentucky on April 20.

Devotees of the Legio Maria African Mission Church hold candles at Easter mass near Nairobi on April 20.

Joshua Layugan participates in The Way of the Cross over the Brooklyn Bridge on April 19, 2019, the annual procession held on Good Friday, emulating Christs walk to Calvary.

Pope Francis carries a crucifix during the Celebration of the Lord's Passion on Good Friday at St. Peter's Basilica, on April 19 in the Vatican.

'Penitents' recreate the Passion of Christ in the Iztapalapa neighborhood of Mexico City on April 19 during the Good Friday procession.

Worshipers attend the Way of the Cross ceremony near Notre Dame Cathedral on April 19, four days after a fire engulfed the 850-year-old Gothic masterpiece, destroying the roof and causing the steeple to collapse.

Christian devotees reenact the Way of the Cross, or Jesus Christ's passion, during a Good Friday commemoration in the Kibera slum on April 19.

Pilgrims celebrate Easter by carrying wooden crosses as they walk over the tidal causeway to Lindisfarne during the final leg of their annual pilgrimage, walking between 70 to 120 miles, on April 19, in Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Lindisfarne has become known as Holy Island because of the part it played in the story of bringing the Christian gospel to England. Oswald granted Lindisfarne to Aidan so that he could establish a monastery modeled on their home on Iona.

Men dressed as ancient Romans take part in a procession as part of Holy Week celebrations in Taxco, in the Mexican state of Guerrero on April 18.

A performer dressed as Jesus Christ and another as a Roman soldier reenact the Stations of the Cross during an annual Holy Thursday procession in Marsala, Sicily, on April 18.

Catholic faithfuls take part in the Procession of Jesus Nazareno de la Humildad during Easter celebrations in Antigua on April 18.

Christian devotees carry wooden crosses on a street in Mabalacat, Pampanga on April 18.

Hooded penitents from the "Santa Veracruz" brotherhood, take part in a Holy Week procession in Calahorra on April 17.

A student plays the role of one of the robbers during the crucifixion of Christ in a play outside the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, popularly known as Quaipo church, in downtown Manila, in observance of Holy Week on April 17.

About one hundred students and volunteers from the Quiapo Parish Youth Ministry staged the Filipino traditional play called "Senakulo" to depict the life and passion of Christ as this predominantly Roman Catholic country observes the Holy Week or lent.

Worshipers pray on the Holy Stairs in Rome on April 16.

Rome's "Holy Stairs," which some Catholics believe were climbed by Jesus in Jerusalem, have been uncovered from a protective wooden casing for the first time in nearly three centuries and restored.

The 28 marble steps will remain bare temporarily for devout pilgrims to climb on their knees with direct contact with the stone until they are covered again in June.

A child dressed as Jesus Christ carries a wooden cross during the "Jesus del gran poder" procession in the colonial city of Granada on April 16.

The statue of Christ from "La Viga" brotherhood is carried along a road illuminated with torches during a procession in Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz province in Andalucia, on April 15.

Catholic children take part in an aquatic reenactment of the Way of the Cross on Lake Cocibolca, or Lake Nicaragua, in Granada on April 15.

Catholic faithful take part in the Palm Sunday procession on April 14 in San Pedro Sacatepequez.

Penitents of "La Amargura" brotherhood make their way to a church before taking part in a procession during Holy Week in the Andalusian capital of Seville on April 14.

Catholic worshipers take part in the traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem's Old City on April 14.

The ceremony is a landmark in the Christian calendar, marking the triumphant return of Christ to Jerusalem the week before his death, when a cheering crowd greeted him waving palm leaves.

Palm Sunday marks the start of the most solemn week in the Christian calendar.

Catholic clerics are reflected in a puddle during the Palm Sunday religious procession in Bucharest on April 14.

Romania's Catholics celebrate Easter on April 21, a week ahead of the Orthodox majority.

A woman, penitent of Los Gitanos brotherhood, leaves a church as she takes part in a procession during Holy Week in Ronda on April 14.

Father Celso Taibo blesses the bread during a palm Sunday mass on April 14 at Lady of Grace Parish Catholic Church in Barrio Manasse.

Hooded penitents from the ''Entrada de Jesus en Jerusalen'' brotherhood take part in a Holy Week Palm Sunday procession in Zaragoza on April 14.

Women wearing traditional "Mantilla" take part in the "Cristo de los Gitanos" brotherhood procession on April 14 in Ronda, during the Holy Week.

A congregant holds a holy cross walking past rubble left from cyclone Idai during a march to commemorate Palm Sunday on April 14 at Lady of Grace Parish Catholic Church in Barrio Manasse.

Pope Francis walks along with Cardinals holding woven palm branches during the Palm Sunday mass on April 14 at St. Peter's square in the Vatican.

A Catholic priest sprinkles holy water over palm fronds before Palm Sunday mass in a Catholic church in Paranaque City on April 14.