Photos of the Week: Annual pilgrimages and more

By Kit Doyle · June 10, 2025
 (RNS) — Each week RNS presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s photo gallery includes annual pilgrimages in Saudi Arabia, Spain and more. Pilgrims walk through dusty terrain near Aznalcazar, Spain, during the annual Catholic pilgrimage to the shrine of the Virgin of El Rocio, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Pilgrims carry the Virgin of El Rocio during a procession in the village of El Rocio, near Almonte in southern Spain, on June 9, 2025, during the annual pilgrimage in which hundreds of thousands of devotees of the Virgin del Rocio converge in and around the shrine. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Pilgrims light candles at the shrine of El Rocio near Aznalcazar, Spain, during the annual Catholic pilgrimage to the shrine of the Virgin of El Rocio, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Pilgrims carry the Virgin of El Rocio during a procession in the village of El Rocio, near Almonte in southern Spain, on June 9, 2025, during the annual pilgrimage in which hundreds of thousands of devotees of the Virgin del Rocio converge in and around the shrine. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Bishop Matthew F. Heyd, right at pulpit, leads an interfaith forum with New York City mayoral candidates Scott Stringer, from left, Michael Blake, Jim Walden and Zohran Mamdani, Thursday, June 5, 2025, at St. John the Divine Cathedral in Manhattan. (RNS photo/Fiona André) Moorish knights, in red, and Christian knights, in blue, ride horses during a battle reenactment at the Cavalhadas, or Holy Spirit Festival, in Pirenopolis, Goias state, Brazil, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) Muslim pilgrims gather on top of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) Muslim pilgrims cast stones at pillars in the symbolic stoning of the devil, the last rite of the annual Hajj, in Mina near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) An Afghan boy works in a livestock market a day before the Eid al-Adha, or "Feast of the Sacrifice", in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Muslim families enjoy a ride at an amusement park during Eid al-Adha festivities in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) Palestinians offer Eid al-Adha prayers beside the ruins of a mosque destroyed by Israeli bombardment, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Archival Photos A missionary airport where church workers could learn how to operate planes was opened in Kenosha, Wisconsin, by the Rev. Gilbert L. Howe, second from left, in 1946. Financed by Protestant churches, individuals and corporations, the project included courses in instrument and night flying, with emphasis on operation over rugged terrain. Pictured are Tom Howlett, from left, a former AAF flight instructor in charge of the flight program, Howe, and six future missionaries: Betty June Shackleton, John Flanders, Mary Lee Seddon, David Dissmore, May Smith and Erma Schnoor. (RNS archive photo. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society.) Children of the First Presbyterian Church in Nashville attend a Sunday school class in an old bus, one of 10 such vehicles used by the church while a new educational building was being constructed in 1954. Teaching the pupils is Mrs. David K. Wilson, in charge of the fourth and fifth graders. The discarded buses were obtained from the Nashville Transit Company. (RNS archive photo by Bob Grannis. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society.)
Related Stories
Photos of the Week: Dalai Lama turns 90, Muharram
By Kit Doyle
Photos of the Week: International Day of Yoga, Syrian church bombing
By Kit Doyle
Photos of the Week: Eid celebrations, No Kings rallies
By Jessi Dodge
Sweat, tears, devotion: Pilgrims cross the wilderness to honor the Rocío Virgin in Spain
By Giovanna Dell'orto
Gaza marks the start of Eid with outdoor prayers in the rubble and food growing ever scarcer
By Wafaa Shurafa