Religions Around The World

In the early morning hours, monks can be seen walking on their alms round in Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Showing humility and detachment from worldly goods, the monk walks slowly and only stops if he is called. Standing quietly, with his bowl open, the local Buddhists give him rice, or flowers, or an envelope containing money.  In return, the monks bless the local Buddhists and wish them a long and fruitful life.
Christians Celebrate Good Friday
Enacting the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in St. Mary's Church in Secunderabad, India. Only 2.3% of India's population is Christian. 
Ancient interior mosaic in the Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora
The Church of the Holy Saviour in Istanbul, Turkey is a medieval Byzantine Greek Orthodox church.
Dome of the Rock located in the Old City of Jerusalem
The site's great significance for Muslims derives from traditions connecting it to the creation of the world and to the belief that the Prophet Muhammad's Night Journey to heaven started from the rock at the center of the structure.
Holi Festival in Mathura, India
Holi is a Hindu festival that marks the end of winter. Also known as the “festival of colors”,  Holi is primarily observed in South Asia but has spread across the world in celebration of love and the changing of the seasons.
Jewish father and daughter pray at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, Israel.
Known in Hebrew as the Western Wall, it is one of the holiest sites in the world. The description, "place of weeping", originated from the Jewish practice of mourning the destruction of the Temple and praying for its rebuilding at the site of the Western Wall.
People praying in Mengjia Longshan Temple in Taipei, Taiwan
The temple is dedicated to both Taoism and Buddhism.
People praying in the Grand Mosque in Ulu Cami
This is the most important mosque in Bursa, Turkey and a landmark of early Ottoman architecture built in 1399.
Savior Transfiguration Cathedral of the Savior Monastery of St. Euthymius
Located in Suzdal, Russia, this is a church rite of sanctification of apples and grapes in honor of the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
Fushimi Inari Shrine is located in Kyoto, Japan
It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. Fushimi Inari is the most important Shinto shrine dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice.
Ladles at the purification fountain in the Hakone Shrine
Located in Hakone, Japan, this shrine is a Japanese Shinto shrine.  At the purification fountain, ritual washings are performed by individuals when they visit a shrine. This ritual symbolizes the inner purity necessary for a truly human and spiritual life.
Hanging Gardens of Haifa are garden terraces around the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel
They are one of the most visited tourist attractions in Israel. The Shrine of the Báb is where the remains of the Báb, founder of the Bábí Faith and forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh in the Bahá'í Faith, have been buried; it is considered to be the second holiest place on Earth for Bahá'ís.
Pilgrims praying at the Pool of the Nectar of Immortality and Golden Temple
Located in Amritsar, India, the Golden Temple is one of the most revered spiritual sites of Sikhism. It is a place of worship for men and women from all walks of life and all religions to worship God equally. Over 100,000 people visit the shrine daily.
Entrance gateway of Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple Kowloon
Located in Hong Kong, China, the temple is dedicated to Wong Tai Sin, or the Great Immortal Wong. The Taoist temple is famed for the many prayers answered: "What you request is what you get" via a practice called kau cim.
Christian women worship at a church in Bois Neus, Haiti.
Haiti's population is 94.8 percent Christian, primarily Catholic. This makes them one of the most heavily Christian countries in the world.

World Religions News

Hundreds of Catholic sisters walk Atlanta streets to pray for social, environmental justice

(RNS) — As the sun rose Thursday morning (Aug. 14), hundreds of Catholic sisters walked through downtown Atlanta as part of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious’ “Outdoor Pilgrimage of Hope.” From 7 to 8 a.m., approximately 470 participants prayed in unison along a 1.2-mile route, guided by readings, music and periods of contemplative silence.

The walkers paused at three locations, each dedicated to one of the key issues they prayed to heal — forced migration, climate change and racism.

Another 75 people joined virtually on Facebook Live from the assembly hall of the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, where the four-day conference of the association of leaders of American Catholic women’s congregations is being held this year.

With an Atlanta Police Department escort, as pilgrims paused the three times, their prayers echoed LCWR’s resolution and commitment to live out the challenges of the late Pope Francis’ “Laudato si’” environmental justice encyclical.

“This is an initiative that is happening throughout the United States as a means of welcoming a variety of people to engage in this year of Jubilee,” said Bridget Bearss, co-chair of the pilgrimage and LCWR’s associate director for transformative justice. “We are committed to deeply investing ourselves in being pilgrims on the journey on behalf of ‘Laudato si’,’ the themes of ‘Laudato si’.’”

Pope Francis declared 2025 a Jubilee, or Holy Year, a Catholic observance held every 25 years for prayer, reconciliation and pilgrimage. The tradition traces its roots to the Hebrew Jubilee in the Book of Leviticus and has developed over centuries in the Catholic Church. This Jubilee Year’s theme, “Pilgrims of Hope,” calls on Catholics around the world to renew their faith and share hope through prayer, reconciliation and public witness.

Sister Susan Francois of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace in New York has participated in the LCWR assembly since 2015. On Thursday morning in Georgia, she posted two TikTok videos on the account @sistersusanfrancoiscsjp, showing the overcast walk featuring “hundreds of Catholic sisters and friends” praying in unison. 

One TikTok user commented “This is true Christianity” on the video, and another wrote “I’m not religious in anyway but this moved me with such faith for humanity.”

RELATED: Rest, reorientation and hope – the pillars of 2025’s Catholic Jubilee year

For Francois, the walk felt personal. In recent months, Francois and a few other Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace have been gathering at a privately run immigrant detention center in Newark, New Jersey, to stand alongside families who face harassment and other obstacles while trying to visit detained loved ones. 

“I met a 7-year-old girl last Saturday who was trying to visit her dad before he was deported to Ecuador,” Francois said. “Their faces were in front of me, and I was just holding them especially in prayer and sending them love.”

Participants also prayed in Spanish to the Virgin of Guadelupe. 

“It was a very powerful experience,” said Annmarie Sanders, a member of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and communication director for LCWR, who participated in the walk. “There’s lots of great poverty here in downtown Atlanta, so it felt like a wonderful opportunity for us to make public our commitment to work, particularly for those three issues, forced migration, climate change and racial equality.”

RELATED: How an Australian brother’s vision sparked an influential Catholic lecture series

LCWR’s annual assembly this year gathered 860 people, including 570 leaders of women’s religious congregations, among them sisters from 18 countries. And for the first time this year, chief administrative officers, communicators and justice promoters who serve congregations attended. 

The LCWR represents 294 congregations and about 35,000 women religious in the U.S. Running annually since the organization was founded in 1956, the conference began Tuesday and runs through Friday, with major addresses by Jesuit priest James Martin; Sister Simona Brambilla, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life; and LCWR President Kathy Brazda.

“I think the belief that the power of our prayer could really make a difference — to just see nearly 500 people coming together in that sense of faith to put more positive energy into the atmosphere — will hopefully influence the course of the world to create a more peaceful place,” Sanders said.

Original Source:

https://religionnews.com/2025/08/14/hundreds-of-catholic-sisters-walk-the-streets-of-atlanta-in-pilgrimage-of-hope/