AP PHOTOS: Joyous Holy Week celebrations around the world

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Louis “Jerry” Barrios, second from left, reacts after being baptized by Co-Pastors Rev. Brian Glasford, right, and his brother Rev. Jason Glasford, left, in the Atlantic Ocean during an Easter sunrise service with the New Life Missionary Baptist Church, Sunday, April 9, 2023, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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“Jesus” is displayed on a large monitor and worship songs are played on stage as people gather for the “Easter Sunrise Service” at the Lincoln Memorial, Sunday, April 9, 2023, in Washington, hosted by the National Community Church. The Washington Monument is silhouetted as the sun rises and is seen beyond the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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People gather and sing songs of worship during an “Easter Sunrise Service” at the Lincoln Memorial, Sunday, April 9, 2023, in Washington, hosted by the National Community Church. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Faithful carry a float during the Easter Sunday procession in Panama City, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

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People attend an Easter Sunday procession in Panama City, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

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Palestinian Christians attend Palm Sunday Mass in a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

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Priests participate in the Easter Sunday Mass led by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

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A girl leans on a Romanian orthodox priest before an Orthodox Palm Sunday pilgrimage in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, April 8, 2023. According to local media hundreds of priests and Orthodox worshippers marched through the Romanian capital and major cities ahead of Palm Sunday. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

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Romanian Orthodox priests and believers stand outside the Patriarchal Cathedral after an Orthodox Palm Sunday pilgrimage in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, April 8, 2023. According to local media hundreds of priests and Orthodox worshippers marched through the Romanian capital and major cities ahead of Palm Sunday. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

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A Romanian orthodox priest and a worshiper are backdropped by religious paintings before an Orthodox Palm Sunday pilgrimage in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, April 8, 2023. According to local media hundreds of priests and Orthodox worshippers marched through the Romanian capital and major cities ahead of Palm Sunday. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

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Cardinals hold candles as Pope Francis presides over an Easter vigil ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Saturday, April 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

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Pope Francis presides over an Easter vigil ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Saturday, April 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

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Cardinals hold candles as Pope Francis presides over an Easter vigil ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Saturday, April 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

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A priest blesses the congregations during an Easter service, at the Church of St Theresa in Vilnius, Lithuania, Saturday, April 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

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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, Friday, April 7, 2023. Hundreds of processions take place throughout Spain during the Easter Holy Week. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

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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, Friday, April 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

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The Passion of Jesus is performed to crowds in Trafalgar Square, London, Friday, April 7, 2023 on Good Friday by actors from the Wintershall Players. (Aaron Chown/PA via AP)

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Penitents with tunics and hoods take part in the Procession of Souls in a Holy Week celebration in Goias, 350 km (217 miles) west of Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, April 6, 2023. Penitents pray for souls, asking for the removal of the dead from purgatory. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

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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 neighborhood of Bogota, Colombia, Friday, April 7, 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. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

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Faithful take part in a Good Friday procession in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, April 7, 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. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

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Archbishop Gintaras Grusas, center, speaks during the Holy Week procession at the Three Crosses hill in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, April 7, 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. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

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Faithful reenact the Way of the Cross in Atyra, Paraguay Friday, April 7, 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. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

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Christian faithfuls pray near the Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, April, 7, 2023 on Good Friday during the Holy Week of Easter. Easter marks the end of Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. The last week of the Lent is called Holy Week, and it contains Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus. (AP Photo/Sayyid Abdul Azim).

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A devotee holds a cross and an image of Jesus Christ during a Good Friday procession in the Ciudad Bolivar neighborhood of Bogota, Colombia, Friday, April 7, 2023. Holy Week commemorates the last week of the earthly life of Jesus culminating in his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

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Faithful raise a giant wooden cross before the Árbol de la Vida or Tree of Life during a Good Friday procession in the hills of the Ciudad Bolivar neighborhood of Bogota, Colombia, Friday, April 7, 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. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

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An actor portraying the part of Jesus Christ, carries the cross during the Good Friday procession in the city center of Wuppertal, Germany, Friday, April 7, 2023. Christians around the world are commemorating Good Friday, marking the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

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Catholic nuns hold candles during the Holy Thursday procession at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Thursday, April 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

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Faithful participate in the Holy Thursday procession at Casco Antiguo neighborhood in Panama City, Thursday, April 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

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Worshipper Jose Maria Segura sings a “saeta” as the Virgin Mary is carried out of the church during the procession of “El Cerro” brotherhood in Seville, Spain, Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Hundreds of processions take place throughout Spain during the Easter Holy Week. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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Hooded Filipino flagellants pray as part of Maundy Thursday rituals to atone for sins or fulfill vows for an answered prayer on April 6, 2023 at Mandaluyong city, Philippines. COVID restrictions the past years have prevented crowds and devotees in participating in lenten rituals, a practice which have been opposed by the church in this predominantly Roman Catholic country. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

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Villagers wearing costumes take part in a Holy Thursday celebration in Santa Rosalia, in the municipality of Mulege, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Thursday, April 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Emilio Espejel)

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Priests arrives during Holy Thursday celebration before a Mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua, Nicaragua, Thursday, April 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Inti Ocon)

By The Associated Press

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This year’s Holy Week was a year for gathering together in prayer.