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Image: Holy Week celebrations

World

Holy Week Marked With Solemn Processions and Colorful Displays

Crowds of faithful attend celebrations and penitents march in processions in the week leading up to Easter.

/ 17 PHOTOS
Image: Holy Week celebrations

A penitent of the Blood Fraternity arrives at Santo Angel church during Holy Week celebrations in Cordoba, southern Spain, on April 11, 2017. Hundreds of processions, each sporting their own colors and many of them dating back to medieval times, take place throughout Spain during Holy Week.

— Rafa Alcaide / EPA
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Catholics participate in the Saint Wednesday procession in Caracas, Venezuela on April 12.

— Miguel Gutierrez / EPA
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Woman pray at the Ethiopian church of Deir Al Sultan next to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem on April 12.

— Atef Safadi / EPA
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Penitents sit for coffee during the procession of the Exaltacion de La Santa Cruz brotherhood in Zaragoza, northern Spain on April 13.

— Alvaro Barrientos / AP
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A penitent holds a rosary during the Exaltacion de La Santa Cruz brotherhood procession in Zaragoza on April 13.

— Alvaro Barrientos / AP
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A man visits Santa Teresa Basilica during the Nazarene of Saint Pau celebration in Caracas on April 12.

— Federico Parra / AFP - Getty Images
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Penitents from Real Cofradia del Santisimo Cristo de las Injurias brotherhood, also known as El Silencio, hold candles during a procession in Zamora, Spain on April 12.

— Daniel Ochoa de Olza / AP
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Girls dressed in traditional costumes run away from men throwing water in Mezokovesd, Hungary on April 13.

— Laszlo Balogh / Reuters
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Catholics hold colored tape tied to a statue of Jesus Nazareno during a Mass at the San Antonio de Padua Church before a procession known as "Jesus Nazareno of the tapes" in Cot of Cartago, Costa Rica on April 12. People tie ribbons to the statue as a symbol of promises they make to Jesus.

— Ezequiel Becerra / AFP - Getty Images
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A gaucho is thrown off a wild horse during the Criolla del Prado rodeo in Montevideo, Uruguay on April 12. The city organizes the rodeo during Holy Week to reward the best riders.

— Matilde Campodonico / AP
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Members of Los Coloraos brotherhood blow trumpets during a Saint Wednesday procession in Murcia, eastern Spain on April 12.

— Cristobal Osete / EPA
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Faithful dressed as devil-like figures, or "talciguines" in the local folklore, attend Holy Week celebrations in Texistepeque, El Salvador on April 10. Faithful dress as talciguines and whip people on the streets to absolve them of their sins.

— Marvin Recinos / AFP - Getty Images
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Penitents of the Rocio brotherhood participate in a procession in Malaga, Spain on April 11.

— Jorge Zapata / EPA
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Children play along the site of the re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Holy Wednesday in San Pedro Cutud village, San Fernando city, north of Manila, Philippines on April 12.

— Mark R. Cristino / EPA
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Children play in a small pool as they watch Gerardo Galvez Jr. portray a suffering Jesus Christ in a local community play called Senakulo in Mandaluyong, east of Manila, Philippines on April 13.

— Rolex Dela Pena / EPA
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A child penitent of the Silencio del Santisimo Cristo del Rebate brotherhood takes part in a procession in the village of Tarazona, Spain on April 11.

— Ander Gillenea / AFP - Getty Images
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Penitents from Cristo de la Buena Muerte brotherhood take part in a procession in Madrid in the early hours of April 11.

— Daniel Ochoa de Olza / AP
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