Western and Eastern Orthodox Christians have been observing Holy Week with a series of special services. In Ukraine, many churches celebrated Palm Sunday with additional prayers for a peaceful resolution to the crisis with Russia. Pope Francis presided over several traditional rituals, including the Holy Thursday foot-washing service, which he conducted at a rehabilitation center for disabled people in Rome. There, he washed and kissed the feet of 12 people, among them women and non-Catholics. The season of Easter—or in the Eastern tradition Pascha—is considered the most important time on the Christian calendar. Jews around the world have been celebrating Passover, the eight-day holiday that remembers their ancestors’ exodus from slavery in Egypt. Jews held special meals, seders, where they retold the Exodus story.

Watch our story this week with Father James Martin SJ on Jesus and Resurrection.