Photo Gallery

Rites, Ceremonies, Festivals: How the World Worships

Religious devotion takes many forms.

A woman burns incense during a puja, a worship ceremony, in Kathmandu, Bagmati province, Nepal.

Sunita Neupane, GPJ Nepal

Sundararasa Suresh performs Yagam, a Hindu sacrifice ritual, and a puja, a worship ceremony, at Sri Mokambikai Temple in Vavuniya, Cheddikulam, Sri Lanka.

Thayalini Indrakularasa, GPJ Sri Lanka

Edward Mwanza cleans a statue of the Virgin Mary, a religious figure, at St. Kizito Parish in Lilanda, Lusaka, Zambia.

Prudence Phiri, GPJ Zambia

Worshippers pray at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Oaxaca City in Oaxaca, Mexico. In Mexico, around 77.7% of the population identifies as Catholic.

Ena Aguilar Peláez, GPJ Mexico

Chimedregzen Mangal lights a lamp before praying at her home in Murun, Khuvsgul province, Mongolia.

Dolgormaa Sandagdorj, GPJ Mongolia

Devotees of Hindu worship at Kaal Bhairav in Kathmandu Durbar Square in Nepal.

Yam Kumari Kandel, GPJ Nepal

Hilario Manzano prays during Rosario de Hombres, a public display of Catholic faith in which men kneel to recite a rosary to the Virgin Mary, in the atrium of Basílica Catedral de Puebla in Puebla, Mexico.

Patricia Zavala Gutiérrez, GPJ Mexico

Hindus carry a statue of Lord Murugan on Vijayadashami, the last day of Navratri, an annual nine-day Hindu festival in honor of the divine feminine, at Kandaswamy Temple in Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

Vijayatharsiny Thinesh, GPJ Sri Lanka

Barbara Tebesigwa prays with a rosary at Marian Grotto at Namugongo, a Catholic shrine in Wakiso, Uganda.

Beatrice Lamwaka, GPJ Uganda

People light candles in Ajnai Square in Umnugovi province, Mongolia, to mourn a 12-year-old girl’s death in Sainshand, Dornogovi province. In Buddhist tradition, candles help spirits find the afterlife.

Uranchimeg Tsogkhuu, GPJ Mongolia

Sushmita Chaudhary and her daughter, Riya, 3, perform puja, a worship ceremony, at Arjundhara Dham in Jhapa district, Nepal, to celebrate Riya’s birthday.

Mayamitu Neupane, GPJ Nepal

Norma González Marín, known as Reikista entre montañas, considers herself an energy channeler as a reiki master. In a ritual at Templo de la felicidad, in Arenas, Utuado, Puerto Rico, she aims to send energy and peace to the world.

Yasmín Porrata Morán, GPJ Puerto Rico

Rangadevi Devkota worships at a Hindu temple in Birendranagar, Surkhet district, Nepal.

Chandani Kathayat, GPJ Nepal

Erdenetsetseg Batbumba offers milk to pray for the health of her husband outside Tugsbayasgalant, a Buddhist monastery, in Erdenebulgan, Arkhangai province, Mongolia.

Odonchimeg Batsukh, GPJ Mongolia

Kanyere Neema prays to the Virgin Mary after morning Mass at Malkia wa Amani Catholic Parish in Kirumba, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Merveille Kavira Luneghe, GPJ Democratic Republic of Congo

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