(RNS) — Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s photo gallery includes South Korea's birthday celebrations for Buddha, Shavuot in Jerusalem and more.
Buddhists march with giant lanterns in a parade during the Lotus Lantern Festival to celebrate the upcoming birthday of Buddha on May 27 in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, May 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Buddhists march with lanterns in a parade during the Lotus Lantern Festival to celebrate the upcoming birthday of Buddha on May 27 in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, May 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Pope Francis attends the world’s first meeting of the Educational Eco-Cities promoted by the Scholas Occurrentes, at the Vatican, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
The destroyed remains of the Chapel of Resurrected Christ at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, Illinois. Photo courtesy Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Valentina, 53, a local woman, stands inside of the Evangelical Christian Baptist's prayer house which was destroyed yesterday by a Russian attack in Orihiv, Ukraine, on Monday, May 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko)
Russian conscripts attend a religion service in the Trinity Cathedral during a send-off event before they head to assigned military units for mandatory one-year military service, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, May 23, 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to enroll 147,000 conscripts aged 18-27 into the army during spring draft. Those drafted will do one year of mandatory military service. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Dancers dressed in traditional Thrace costumes watch a ritual to celebrate St. Constantine in Lagkadas, Greece, on Monday, May 22, 2023. Groups of devotees of St. Constantine called "anastenaria" celebrate his feast day with elaborate rituals that include dancing with icons over a bed of burning coals. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell'Orto)
Devotees of St. Constantine called "anastenaria" walk and dance across a bed of burning coals, carrying icons to celebrate the Orthodox saint's feast in Lagkadas, Greece, on Monday, May 22, 2023. "Always there's an amount of fear related to respect," one of them said. The ritual symbolizes empowerment through the saints' intercession to put out the flames. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell'Orto)
Jewish worshippers enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, on the holiday of Shavuot in the Old City of Jerusalem, Friday, May 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Jewish worshippers pray in the Cotton Market or Souq al-Qattanin facing the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, on the holiday of Shavuot in the Old City of Jerusalem, Friday, May 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Archival Photos
Two Catholic nuns attend a panel discussion on religion in the public schools during a national conference on religion and public education. The panel dealt with the treatment of religious viewpoints in the public school curriculum. Sponsoring the conference was the National Council of Churches, which comprises of Protestant and Eastern Orthodox Communions. A number of Catholics and Jews attended the conference as observers. RNS Archive photo by W.C. Runder, courtesy of Presbyterian Historical Society
Reynaldo Sanchez Vetia, a Cuban refugee, studies a statue of San Lazaro, the patron saint of Cuba, as he rests on a cot in a camp on Miami Beach — temporary living quarters for hundreds of new arrivals. He accidentally came upon the statue in a pile of donated clothes at the facility. Mr. Vetia, who is a Catholic, says he was not allowed to practice his faith in Cuba. RNS Archive photo, courtesy of Presbyterian Historical Society
