Photos of the Week

This week’s gallery includes the start of the annual hajj in Saudi Arabia, continued unrest in Kashmir, vigils after mass shootings in the U.S., and more.

Pilgrims pray near the Al-Safa mountain, at the Grand Mosque, during the Hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Aug. 9, 2019. In the largest annual pilgrimage on Earth, Muslims have arrived in the kingdom to participate in the annual hajj, a ritual required of all able-bodied Muslims at least once in their life. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

(RNS) — Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s gallery includes the start of the annual hajj in Saudi Arabia, continued unrest in Kashmir, vigils after mass shootings in the U.S., and more.

Pilgrims pray near the Al-Safa mountain, at the Grand Mosque, during hajj, the pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Aug. 9, 2019. In the largest annual pilgrimage on Earth, Muslims come to the kingdom to participate in the annual hajj, a ritual required of all able-bodied Muslims at least once in their life. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)


A man displays a snake to attract alms from Hindu devotees who arrive to worship at a temple during the annual Nag Panchami festival, in Prayagraj, India, on Aug. 5, 2019. The festival is dedicated to the worship of snakes. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Participants of the Euromoot meeting of the Federation of European Scouting attend an audience with Pope Francis in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, on Aug. 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Mourners visit a makeshift memorial at the scene of a mass shooting at a shopping complex in El Paso, Texas, on Aug. 6, 2019. At the growing memorial for the victims of the massacre, the city’s roots in Catholicism and religion in general loom large. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Muslim pilgrims wait for prayers at the Grand Mosque, ahead of the hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Aug. 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Hundreds of attendees at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly march to the ICE building in Milwaukee for a prayer vigil in support of migrant children and their families on Aug. 7, 2019. RNS photo by Emily McFarlan Miller

Kashmiri Muslim women shout slogans as they march on a street after Friday prayers in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, on Aug. 9, 2019. A strict curfew in Indian-administered Kashmir in effect for a fifth day was eased Friday to allow residents to pray at mosques, officials said. Some protests still broke out in the disputed region despite thousands of security forces in the streets as tensions remained high with neighboring Pakistan. (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)

Melody Stout, from left, Hannah Payan, Aaliyah Alba, Sherie Gramlich and Laura Barrios comfort each other during a vigil for victims of the shooting Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019, in El Paso, Texas. A young gunman opened fire in an El Paso, Texas, shopping area during the busy back-to-school season, leaving multiple people dead and more than two dozen injured. (AP Photo/John Locher)


People touch a statue of Saint Cayetano at Church of San Cayetano in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Aug. 7, 2019, the saint’s feast day. Known as the patron saint of the unemployed, Catholics visit the church on the Italian saint’s feast day to pray for prosperity and employment. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Afghans arrive to buy livestock on sale for the upcoming Eid al-Adha festival at a local livestock market in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 9, 2019. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha by sacrificing sheep, goats, buffalos, camels and cows to commemorate Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismail, on God’s command. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

A sign posted on the door of Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta forbids guns “in God’s House” on Aug. 6, 2019. A URL on the sign directs people to the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program webpage, which provides resources for community peacemaking. (AP Photo/Andrea Smith)

Activists shout slogans during a protest against the Indian government for revoking Kashmir’s special constitutional status in New Delhi, India, on Aug. 7, 2019. India’s Hindu nationalist-led government has used a presidential order to revoke the special constitutional status of Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir state. It also had a bill passed to downgrade Jammu and Kashmir into a union territory instead of a state and turn a third region of the state, Ladakh, into a separate union territory. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

People gather at makeshift memorial for the victims of Saturday’s mass shooting at a shopping complex in El Paso, Texas, on Aug. 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Donate to Support Independent Journalism!

Donate Now!