Christians around the globe attended public processions this week to commemorate Good Friday, with members of diverse communities retelling the story of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion.
The annual processions in many countries defy centuries-old portrayals of Jesus as a white man and demonstrate how the world’s largest religion is influenced by its cultural settings. As of 2015, 31% of the earth’s 7.3 billion people practiced Christianity, according to the Pew Research Center.
Good Friday, the day Christians commemorate Jesus’ suffering and death, falls near the end of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and reflection that culminates with Easter, the day Christians believe Jesus was resurrected.
The public Good Friday processions, sometimes called passion plays, often take viewers through the Stations of the Cross. These are the events that led up to Jesus’ death ― starting with his trial in front of the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate and ending with his entombment, according to the Christian gospels.
Jewish organizations have criticized passion plays for how they portray Jewish people. Since 1965, the Roman Catholic Church and other Christian denominations have worked to correct inaccurate and anti-Semitic retellings of Good Friday.
Below, see how Christians around the world observed Good Friday this year.
Mexico
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Christians recreate the Passion of Christ in the Iztapalapa neighborhood in eastern Mexico City on April 19, 2019.
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A Christian portraying Jesus recreates the Stations of the Cross during Good Friday on April 19, 2019, in Colima, Mexico.
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Christians act out the Stations of the Cross in Colima, Mexico.
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People reenact the crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday on a hill outside the village of San Mateo, Tepotzotlán, Mexico, on April 19, 2019.
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Crosses set up on a hill outside the village of San Mateo, Tepotzotlán, on Good Friday.
Haiti
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Actors perform the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on April 19, 2019.
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An actor depicts Jesus on Good Friday in Port-au-Prince.
Panama
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Jose Fuentes, center, portrays Jesus Christ during a Good Friday procession in Panama City on April 19, 2019.
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Fuentes reenacts the crucifixion in Panama City.
Kenya
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Christian devotees reenact the Way of the Cross, or Jesus Christ’s passion, during a Good Friday commemoration in Kibera, Nairobi, on April 19, 2019.
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A man portrays Jesus in Kibera, Nairobi, on Good Friday.
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Actors perform a passion play in Nairobi on Good Friday.
Indonesia
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A procession of Christians in Surabaya, East Java, on Good Friday.
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Christians reenact the crucifixion of Jesus in Surabaya, East Java.
India
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Christians mark Good Friday in Gauhati, India, on April 19, 2019.
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A man portrays Jesus in Mumbai, India, on April 19, 2019.
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Christian devotees reenact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in Hyderabad, India, on April 19, 2019.
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Christians mark Good Friday outside St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Prayagraj, India, on April 19, 2019.
United Kingdom
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James Burke-Dunsmore plays Jesus Christ during a Good Friday performance in Trafalgar Square on April 19, 2019, in London.
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Actors reenact the crucifixion in front of crowds in Trafalgar Square on Good Friday.
Italy
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Christians participate in a Good Friday procession in front of the Basilica of the Santissima Annunziata on April 19, 2019 in Ispica, Italy.
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Christians carry a cross toward Pope Francis, visible in the background, during a torchlight procession on Good Friday in Rome.
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Pope Francis presides over the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) torchlight procession on Good Friday in front of Rome’s Colosseum on April 19, 2019.
France
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Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit leads Holy Week celebrations near Notre Dame Cathedral on April 19, 2019, four days after a fire engulfed the 850-year-old Gothic masterpiece.
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Religious officials carry the cross during a Good Friday procession in Paris on April 19, 2019.
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A group of penitents takes part in a traditional Catalan Good Friday procession in the center of Perpignan, southwestern France, on April 19, 2019.
Jerusalem
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An actor carries a cross toward the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed to be the site of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, during the Good Friday procession in Jerusalem’s old city on April 19, 2019.
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Members of a local Catholic Palestinian parish carry a wooden cross along the Via Dolorosa (Way of Suffering) in Jerusalem’s Old City on Good Friday.
