Millions of Christians waving palm branches gathered across the world today to celebrate Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week.
Pope Francis led a mass to pilgrims, tourists and worshippers in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican – just a day after he was discharged from hospital where he was being treated for bronchitis.
The service is one of the longest in the Christian calender and can last up to two and a half hours, drawing tens of thousands of people to the holy site.
Worshippers across the world also took part in processions that retraced Jesus’s triumpful arrival in Jerusalem.
Christians gathered in the city of Jerusalem itself at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where it is traditionally believed that Jesus was crucified and buried.
Pope Francis at the Palm Sunday mass in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican – one day after he was discharged from hospital
Christians at a Palm Sunday mass at the Saint Anthony’s Church in Lahore, Pakistan
Filipino Catholics waving their palm branches during a Palm Sunday mass at the Antipolo Cathedral in the Rizal province
Crowds gather in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican for the Palm Sunday mass today
According to the Bible, Jesus was met by cheering crowds waving palm branches who then laid them on the ground to set out his path when he arrived in Jerusalem.
Palm Sunday, which celebrates this story, falls at the beginning of Holy Week – the most sacred in the Christian calender which includes Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Pope Francis is due to celebrate Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday, and Easter Monday in the upcoming week.
Christians at a holy mass in Jerusalem where Jesus is believed to have been crucified and buried
A woman buys palm fronds outside a Catholic church on the eve of Palm Sunday in Las Pinas City, Phillipines
Catholics holding palm leaves during a Palm Sunday procession at the St Joseph Cathedral in Hyderabad, India
Christians celebrating Palm Sunday inside the Jakarta Cathedral, Indonesia
Worshippers holding palm leaves during a Palm Sunday procession in India today
Filipino Catholics raising their palm fronds for blessings during a Palm Sunday mass at the Antipolo Cathedral
Members of the ‘Santos Inocentes de Caucagua’ brotherhood accompany members from the ‘Los Palmeros de Chacao’ during a pilgrimage in Venezuela
Worshippers at the Vatican were joined by millions of others across the world to mark the important date in the Christian calender.
In India, believers held palm leaves during a Palm Sunday procession at the St Joseph Cathedral, Hyderabad.
Tens of thousands of people also gathered in Lahore, Pakistan at Saint Anthony’s Church for a mass.
In Jakarta, Indonesia, worshippers congregated inside the cathedral for a Palm Sunday mass.
A dog is carried by its owner as devotees have their palm branches blessed with holy water at the Antipolo Cathedral, Phillipines
Catholics outside a church in Las Pinas City, Metro Manila, Philippines today
A woman holding a palm branch during Pope Francis’s mass at the Vatican today
A member of the Palmeros de Chacao brotherhood in Venezuela with palm leaves that will be blessed ahead of Palm Sunday
Nuns hold olive branches as Pope Francis holds the Palm Sunday Mass in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican
Faithful hold palm branches prior to the start of the Palm Sunday mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican
A man carries palms before the Palm Sunday mass at Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican
Worshippers before the Palm Sunday mass at the Vatican today
Christians in the Phillipines bought palm fronds in Las Pinas city yesterday in preparation for the services and processions today.
In Venezuela, members of the ‘Santos Inocentes de Caucagua’ and ‘Los Palmeros de Chacao brotherhoods joined a pilgrimage at El Avila national park on the outskirts of Caracas yesterday.
The dates palmeros de Chacao brotherhood which dates to the late 18th century came with tied palms to celebrate the start of Holy Week.
Pope Francis was released from hospital yesterday where he was being treated for bronchitis
Roman Catholic clergymen carry palm fronds during the Palm Sunday procession at Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem
Worshippers gather in St Peter’s Sqaure at the Vatican for the Palm Sunday service
Pakistani Christians attend a Palm Sunday Mass in St. Anthony Church in Lahore
A Catholic priest blesses palm leaves during a Palm Sunday procession at the St Joseph Cathedral in Hyderabad, India
Children in the Phillipines throw flower petals onto worshippers during a procession to mark Palm Sunday in Las Pinas City
After the masses, some worshippers will take their palms home or others will be burnt to make ashes.
The burnt ashes are then used on Ash Wednesday which marks the start of Lent.
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