Pope John Paul II looks out of his window prior to giving his Easter Sunday blessing at the Vatican March 27, 2005. For the first time since his papacy began in 1978, the pontiff skipped Easter Sunday Mass while he continues his convalescence following two recent hospitalizations for breathing problems.
Jerusalem
Following an Easter morning Mass March 27, 2005, Catholic priests and pilgrims walk in a candle-light procession around the structure which Christians believe is the tomb of Jesus Christ, within the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, in Jerusalem's Old City.
New York City
Rose Marie Thoms, left, Nathan Steinberg, second from left, Natalie Reynolds, second from right, and Jeff Reynolds attract attention while strolling on New York's Fifth Ave in turn-of-the-century outfits during the annual Easter Parade March 27, 2005.
Cuba
Georgina Noa, left, and Georgina Gonzalez, second from left, hold flowers as they shout "Freedom", Havana, Cuba, March 27, 2005. About 30 wives of political prisoners dressed in white and each carrying a single orange gladiola after Easter services at Santa Rita Catholic Church marched demanding freedom for their husbands and other political prisoners.
North Carolina
Marilyn Betts, of Powder Springs, Ga., left, Jorden Stogner, 9, of Lake City, Tenn., and Nancy Hyatt, of Temple, Ga., walk together while wearing their Easter bonnets during the Easter Hat Parade in Dillsboro, N.C., March 26, 2005.
Philippines
Mary Jane Mamangon, 30, prepares herself to be nailed on a cross in a reenactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday, March 25, 2005 at Santa Lucia village in Pampanga province, north of Manila, Philippines. Dozens of worshipers in the Philippines were volunteering to be nailed to wooden crosses in an annual Good Friday tradition.
Indonesia
Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg, Florida, center, leads parishioners during an Easter Sunday Mass at Hati Kudus Catholic Church in the tsunami-ravaged town of Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
Romania
Ethnic Hungarian girls, dressed in national costumes, listen to the Easter Sunday Mass in Korosfoe, Romania, March 27, 2005. In many parts of Romania, members of the Hungarian minority still celebrate Easter in the traditional way.
Germany
Bavarian highlanders in their traditional Sunday best ride their adorned horses to the church of Ettendorf, background, in a century-old Easter Monday procession near Traunstein, southern Germany, March 28, 2005.
India
Christians pray at the graves of their relatives in Purulia, India, March 27, 2005.
East Timor
East Timorese girls wearing white dresses attend a Mass service to celebrate Easter at a church in Dili March, 25, 2005. Nearly 90 percent of East Timorese are Catholic.
China
A Chinese Catholic holds a cross during a Mass to "remember the suffering of Jesus" in Beijing on Good Friday, March 25, 2005. Catholics in China have begun marking Easter with special services. China's communist government counts approximately 4 million Catholics, but the Vatican says another 8 million operate outside of the officially sanctioned church.
Brazil
Penitents take part in "Prociso do Fogaru," the Torches Procession of brotherhood, part of Holy Week ceremonies, in Goias Velho, Brazil, March 24, 2005. Hundreds of Easter processions take place throughout Brazil during Holy Week.
Spain
A penitent walks to join a Palm Sunday Holy Week procession in Cordoba, Spain 20, 2005. The Easter Holy Week started with processions all over Spain.
Texas
Benjamin Tindall hoists a young child into the air as he portrays Jesus Christ perfoming miracles during the annual University of Mary Hardin-Baylor's Easter Pageant, March 23, 2005, in Belton, Texas. The Baptist University spent months preparing the hour-long performance that depicts the life of Christ.
El Salvador
A man is flogged by a person dressed as a "Talciguin" (possessed man), in red, in Texistepeque, El Salvador, some 51 miles northeast of San Salvador March 21, 2005. The feast of the Talciguines is a religious feast during Easter week in which red-hooded men roam the streets flogging people in order to free them from their sins.
Jerusalem
Roman Catholic nuns pray during a Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City March 20, 2005. The week from Palm Sunday to Easter is considered Holy Week by many Christians, some of whom make their way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is said to have been the site where Jesus Christ was entombed after being crucified.
London
Fathers 4 Justice protesters wearing monks' habits stand at the front of St Paul's Cathedral, in London, in an Easter weekend stunt March 25, 2005. The Fathers 4 Justice campaigners climbed up to the dome at around 8 a.m., a City of London Police spokesman said, where they unfurled a banner which read "In The Name Of The Father."
Spain
Penitents carry a statue of Christ along a beach during a Good Friday Holy Week procession in Valencia, eastern Spain, March 25, 2005.
South Korea
South Korean Christian actor Chung Sun-il carries a cross while reenacting Jesus' path to his crucifixion during a Good Friday celebration in downtown Seoul March 25, 2005.