(RNS) — Each week RNS presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s photo gallery includes prayers and pilgrims around the world from a variety of faiths. 
Followers of Saint Lazarus, known as the protector of the sick, crawl in self-imposed penance during a pilgrimage to the saint’s shrine for his annual feast day, in Santiago de Las Vegas, Cuba, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) 
People visit Sensoji Buddhist temple at Asakusa district Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) 
A supporter signs a cross during a candlelight vigil Dec. 17, 2024, outside the Wisconsin Capitol in Madison, Wis., after a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School on Dec. 16. (AP Photo/Morry Gash) 
President Joe Biden plants a kiss on the head of his grandson, Beau Biden, accompanied by second gentleman Doug Emhoff, from left, first lady Jill Biden and Rabbi Elliott Cosgrove, during a Hanukkah reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) 
Worshippers pray in the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, ahead of Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) 
Whirling dervishes of the Mevlevi order perform Sema prayer ceremonies, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, at Konya stadium in Konya, Turkey. (Photo by David I. Klein) 
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man prays next to the Sea of Galilee, northern Israel, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) 
Syrians pray at the shrine of al-Sayydah Zeinab, the granddaughter of Prophet Mohammed, south of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) 
Syrian activists gather at the Umayyad Square during a protest to demand a secular state, in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) 
An Aymara Indigenous spiritual leader pours alcohol on coals to burn as part of an offering to Pachamama, or Mother Earth, outside her workspace, which stands on the side of a cliff overlooking La Paz, in El Alto, Bolivia, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Gaston Brito) 
The statue of Napoleon towers over Ajaccio’s “Place d’Austerlitz” as Pope Francis celebrates a Mass during his visit to the French island of Corsica, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Archival Photos 
An Israeli youngster uses oranges for a menorah during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah in 1975. The eight-day “Feast of Lights” is celebrated by lighting candles on a menorah as a reminder of an oil lamp which burned for eight days instead of one at the Temple in 165 B.C. Hanukkah is also observed by the giving of gifts to children and playing special games. (RNS archive photo Isaac Berez. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society.) 
Bishop Michael Fu celebrates midnight Mass on Dec. 24, 1980, at St. Joseph’s Church in Beijing, China. The event marked the re-opening of the parish, which was closed during China’s 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution — when the building was used as a textile warehouse. (RNS archive photo. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society.) 
Israeli troops on patrol in Bethlehem stop their vehicle outside the Church of the Nativity to talk with a fellow soldier on duty outside the church in 1975. During the Christmas season, Israel steps up security measures in the Bethlehem area. (RNS archive photo. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society.) 
Esther Jungreis, center, a well-known Jewish author and educator, chats with Hanukkah visitors to a mobile “heritage center” in North Woodmere, N.Y., in 1979. Jungreis travels around the New York area in a van sponsored by Hineni — an organization which she leads — dedicated to Jewish revival. They bring the story of their heritage to unaffiliated Jews. (RNS archive photo by Barbara Janov. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society.) | 
