Palm Sunday: 12 stunning pictures of celebrations around the world

Yesterday was Palm Sunday; the day Christians remember Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. It marks the start of Holy Week – leading up to Jesus' death on Good Friday, and resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Christians around the world celebrate Palm Sunday – named so because people threw palms on the ground as Jesus rode by – with ritual processions where palm branches are carried into church. These palms are blessed, and sometimes folded into crosses.

Here's a look at some of the celebrations from across the globe:

A Catholic priest sprinkles holy water to bless churchgoers' palm fronds during mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help church in Paranaque city, Manila.

Members of the clergy carry palm fronds as they take part in a procession at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City. 

Pope Francis leads the Palm Sunday mass at Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican.

A woman prays on a hill with wooden crosses after a procession in the town of Oshmiany, Belarus.

Belarussian Catholics carry a wooden cross in Oshmiany.

Christian Maronite children hold palm fronds during a procession in the coastal city of Tripoli, northern Lebanon.

Children attend during a Palm Sunday procession in Pontevedra, northern Spain.

Catholics carry a statue of Jesus Christ on a donkey during a procession outside the Metropolitan Cathedral, in downtown Asuncion, Paraguay.

Clergy take part in a procession on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

Catholics hold weavings made of palm fronds during a procession at the 20 de Julio Church in Bogota, Colombia.

People take part in the Palm Sunday procession and traditional contest for the largest handmade palms (made of wicker twigs and decorated with colourful flowers and ribbons) in Lipnica Murowana near Krakow, southern Poland.

related articles
The Stations: Dramatic recreation of Easter devotion depicts refugees\' journey of suffering
The Stations: Dramatic recreation of Easter devotion depicts refugees' journey of suffering

The Stations: Dramatic recreation of Easter devotion depicts refugees' journey of suffering

The promise of Easter: After the wilderness comes a new beginning
The promise of Easter: After the wilderness comes a new beginning

The promise of Easter: After the wilderness comes a new beginning

Palm Sunday: What Jesus\' mission teaches us about God\'s timing
Palm Sunday: What Jesus' mission teaches us about God's timing

Palm Sunday: What Jesus' mission teaches us about God's timing

How did Jesus die – and why? Understanding the Crucifixion
How did Jesus die – and why? Understanding the Crucifixion

How did Jesus die – and why? Understanding the Crucifixion

A need-to-know guide to Palm Sunday
A need-to-know guide to Palm Sunday

A need-to-know guide to Palm Sunday

News
Fire severely damages historic Amsterdam church on New Year’s Day
Fire severely damages historic Amsterdam church on New Year’s Day

A major fire tore through one of Amsterdam’s best-known historic buildings in the early hours of New Year’s Day, seriously damaging the property and forcing people to leave nearby homes.

Rwanda’s president on the defensive over church closures
Rwanda’s president on the defensive over church closures

Rwandan President Paul Kagame defended the government's forced closure of Evangelical churches, accusing them of being a “den of bandits” led by deceptive relics of colonialism. 

We are the story still being written
We are the story still being written

The story of Christ continues in the lives of those who take up His calling.

Christians harassed, attacked all over India at Christmas
Christians harassed, attacked all over India at Christmas

International Christian Concern reported more than 80 incidents in India, some of them violent, over Christmas.