Photos of the Week

This week’s gallery includes attacks on the Sikh community in Afghanistan, the mounting coronavirus death toll in Italy, and more.

(RNS) — Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s gallery includes attacks on the Sikh community in Afghanistan, the mounting coronavirus death toll in Italy, and more.

In this long-exposure photograph, stars trails move in an arc around the Polar Star over the Orthodox Church of the Assumption of the Virgin in Lukinskoye village, 40 miles east of St. Petersburg, Russia, early Monday, March 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)


Coffins are lined up on the floor in the San Giuseppe church in Seriate, one of the areas worst hit by coronavirus, near Bergamo, Italy, waiting to be taken to a crematory, Thursday, March 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Coffins from the Italian city of Bergamo, in northern Italy are unloaded at a cemetery in Ferrara, south of Venice, Saturday, March 21, 2020. The mortuary in Bergamo, at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. has reached its maximum capacity and many victims of the epidemic are being cremated in other cities. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Afghan Sikh men mourn their loved ones during a funeral in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 26, 2020, for those who were killed the day before, when a lone Islamic State gunman rampaged through a Sikh gurdwara. An explosive device then disrupted Thursday’s funeral services for the 25 members of Afghanistan’s Sikh minority community who were killed. (AP Photo/Tamana Sarwary)

Afghan Sikhs attend a mass funeral and cremation ceremony for those killed Wednesday, when a lone Islamic State gunman rampaged through a Sikh gurdwara, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, March 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Tamana Sarwary)

Afghan Sikh men carry coffins in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, March 26, 2020, during a funeral procession for those killed Wednesday when an Islamic State gunman rampaged through a Sikh house of worship. An explosive device then disrupted Thursday’s funeral services for the 25 members of Afghanistan’s Sikh minority community who were killed. (AP Photo/Tamana Sarwary)

Buddhist monks wear face masks and attempt to socially distance themselves to protect against the novel coronavirus as they pray for good luck at Debsirin Temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, March 25, 2020. Thailand’s government declared an emergency to take stricter measures to control the coronavirus outbreak in the Southeast Asian country. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

The Martinez family from Puebla, left, celebrates the Spring equinox a little early, to avoid crowds and closures, atop the Pyramid of the Sun, in Teotihuacan, Mexico, Thursday, March 19, 2020. To slow the spread of the coronavirus, Mexican authorities announced Wednesday that they would close the pyramid complex on weekends, beginning Saturday, March 21, when thousands of visitors typically climb the Pyramid of the Sun to celebrate the equinox. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)


Orthodox Jewish men use “social distancing” as they pray outside the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters, Friday, March 20, 2020 in the Brooklyn, New York, before leaders of six major organizations in their faith released a joint statement urging worshippers to “avoid, to the maximum extent feasible, any outside interactions” to help stop the coronavirus pandemic. Orthodox Jewish leaders mounted their show of unity to underscore to a wide swath of congregants the importance of behavioral changes that amount to a massive upheaval in their faith communities. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Pathway Baptist Church holds a worship service at the Calvert Drive-In Theatre, Sunday, March 22, 2020, in Calvert City, Kentucky. Attendees remained in their vehicles to avoid exposure to the coronavirus. Photo by Nathan Brandon/Studio 270 Media

Pastor Nick Bruckner leads a snowy drive-in service of Unalakleet Covenant Church, Sunday, March 22, 2020, in Unalakleet, Alaska. Courtesy photo by Bret Hanson

Pope Francis delivers his blessing from the window of his private library overlooking an empty St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2020. During his weekly Sunday blessing, held due to coronavirus concerns in his private library in the Apostolic Palace, he urged all Christians to join in reciting the ”Our Father” prayer next Wednesday at noon. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Donate to Support Independent Journalism!

Donate Now!