Photos of the Week: Vesak festivities; Coronation prep
By Jessi Dodge · May 5, 2023
(RNS) — Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s photo gallery includes celebrations of Vesak in Malaysia and the United States, preparations for the coronation of King Charles III and more.
Monks wearing magnificent costumes and masks perform prayers before the Thangka, or traditional painting of Lord Buddha, is unveiled at a Tibetan temple during Wesak day celebrations in Ipoh, Malaysia, Thursday, May 4, 2023. Wesak Day, one of the holiest days for Buddhists, offers an opportunity for all followers to come together and celebrate not only Buddha's birthday, but also his enlightenment and achievement of nirvana. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Devotees unveil a giant canvas of sacred "Thangka" measuring 60 meters (197 feet) by 12 meters (39 feet), under the sun during Wesak day celebrations in Ipoh, Malaysia, Thursday, May 4, 2023. Wesak Day, one of the holiest days for Buddhists, offers an opportunity for all followers to come together and celebrate not only Buddha's birthday, but also his enlightenment and achievement of nirvana. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff participates in a Vesak celebration on Monday, May 16, 2022, at the White House. (Official White House Photo by Erin Scott)
Professor David Latchman with items in his collection of memorabilia related to the history of British Jews, in London, Friday, April 28, 2023. At a time when religion is fueling tensions around the world — from Hindu nationalists in India, to Jewish settlers in the West Bank, to fundamentalist Christians in the United States — King Charles III is trying to bridge the differences between the faith groups that make up Britain’s increasingly diverse society. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Shiite Muslims carry the coffins of slain teachers at their funeral, in Parachinar, in Pakistan, Friday, May 5, 2023. Gunmen stormed a school in a town in the Kurram district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Thursday, killing multiple teachers and gunning down another teacher from the school in a separate attack. (AP Photo/Dilawer Hussain)
Members of the Centre of India Trade Unions (CITU) dressed as Muslim, Hindu and Christian priests stand next to a picture of Cuban revolutionary leader Che Guevara during a rally to mark May Day in Hyderabad, India, Monday, May 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
An exiled Tibetan artist in traditional costume waits with others to perform in front of her spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India, Friday, May 5, 2023. The Tibetan leader attended the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Bharat Tibet Sahyog Manch. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)
Archival Photos
Students Rick Keener, 17, from left, Ed Frank, 16, and Ken Lindow, 18, load a truck with medicines and other supplies in preparation to leave Houston, Texas, for a church-sponsored mass vaccination project in Honduras in 1965. Interfaith Protestant, Catholic and Jewish volunteer teams visited rural areas in western Honduras to innoculate men, women and children against such diseases as smallpox, tuberculosis, typhoid, typhus and tetanus. RNS archive photo. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society.
Pope Paul VI and former President Lyndon B. Johnson exchange gifts during their 1967 meeting at the Vatican. The former Chief Executive and the Roman Catholic pontiff discussed peace moves in Vietnam during the meeting. In his book, Johnson described Pope Paul as "a quiet, serious and sensitive man profoundly dedicated to the cause of world peace." RNS archive photo. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society.
