Skip to main contentSkip to main content
You have permission to edit this collection.
Edit
McDowell News
47°
  • Log In
  • Subscribe
  • user icon Guest
  • Logout
Read Today's E-edition
  • News
    • Local
    • Crime
    • State and Regional
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Business
    • Nation & World
    • Markets & Stocks
    • News Tip
  • Obituaries
    • Share a story
    • Recent Obituaries
    • Find an Obituary
  • Opinion
    • Columnists
    • Cartoon
    • Editorials
    • Letters
    • Submit a letter
  • Sports
    • High School
    • College
    • Professional
  • Lifestyles
    • Event Calendar
    • Arts and Theatre
    • Food & Cooking
    • Movies & TV
    • Music
    • Contests
    • Comics
    • Puzzmo
    • Games & Puzzles
    • Play
    • Home & Garden
    • Health
    • Parenting
    • Fashion
    • People
    • Travel
    • Faith
  • Sponsored Content
  • Join the community
    • News tip
    • Share video
    • Send a story
    • Share a photo
  • Brand Ave. Studios
  • Print Edition
    • E-edition
    • Today's Ads
    • Special Sections
    • McDowell Archives
  • Buy & Sell
    • Place an Ad
    • Jobs
    • Cars
    • Marketplace
    • Public Notices
    • Shop Local
    • Today's Deal
  • Shopping
  • Customer Service
    • Manage Subscription
    • Activate Digital Subscription
    • Newsletter sign-up
    • Subscribe
    • Contact
    • Help Center
  • Gift Subscriptions
  • Mobile Apps
  • Weather: Live rader
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
© 2026 Lee Enterprises
Terms of Service | Privacy Policy
McDowell News
News+
Where your story lives
Subscribe
Read Today's E-edition
McDowell News
News+
Where your story lives
Subscribe
  • Log In
  • user icon
    Welcome, Guest
    • My Subscription
      Help Center
    • My Account
    • Dashboard
    • Profile
    • Saved items
    • Logout
  • E-edition
  • News
  • Obituaries
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Puzzmo
  • Puzzles
  • Lifestyles
  • Public Notices
  • Jobs
  • 47° Showers in the Vicinity
Share This
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Bluesky
  • WhatsApp
  • SMS
  • Email
Riveting images of faith and spirituality: 30 of AP's best religion photos of 2025
0 Comments
Share this
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Bluesky
  • WhatsApp
  • SMS
  • Email
  • Print
  • Save
AP Spotlight

Riveting images of faith and spirituality: 30 of AP's best religion photos of 2025

  • ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Dec 30, 2025
  • Dec 30, 2025 Updated Mar 6, 2026
  • 0

A year of faith through AP’s lens — from crowded squares to quiet acts of devotion.

YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

A reveler holds her dog as she participates in the annual Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral, in New York, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)

Andres Kudacki
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

A nun holds a photo of Pope Francis while attending his funeral, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru, File)

Andreea Alexandru
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

The body of Pope Francis is carried into St. Peter's Basilica to lie in state for three days, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025, (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)

Emilio Morenatti
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

Pilgrims ride through dusty terrain, on their way to the shrine of El Rocio during the annual pilgrimage, near Aznalcázar, Spain, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)

Emilio Morenatti
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

An Indian volunteer carries an idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha to immerse in an artificial pond, in Mumbai, India, Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade, File)

Rajanish Kakade
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

A weather vane in the form of an angel on top of the spire of the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral is silhouetted against the sun showing solar activity zones, photographed by a solar telescope, in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Aug. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, File)

Dmitri Lovetsky
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

Father Paisios is followed by cats as he walks at the Simonopetra, or Simonos Petra Monastery, home of the all-male autonomous community of Agion Oros, or Holy Mountain, on the peninsula of Mount Athos, in northern Greece, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)

Thanassis Stavrakis
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

Darleen Hall worships during a service at New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, in Chicago, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Carolyn Kaster
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

A congregant of the Re'ese Adbarat Debre Selam Kidist Mariam Church, an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church, stands during a service, in Washington, D.C., April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski, File)

Jessie Wardarski
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

Participants carry a portable shrine, or mikoshi, into the sea during a purification rite at the annual Kurihama Sumiyoshi Shrine Festival at Kurihama, Yokosuka city, south of Tokyo, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Eugene Hoshiko
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

A Tamil Hindu priest takes part in a procession during the Thaipusam festival at Batu Caves, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)

Vincent Thian
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

Iranian Shiite Muslims mourn in a ceremony on the eve of Ashoura, the death anniversary of Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussein, in Tehran Iran, July 5, 2025, (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

Vahid Salemi
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

An Aymara Indigenous spiritual guide blesses a statue of baby Jesus with incense after an Epiphany Mass at a Catholic church in La Paz, Bolivia, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)

Juan Karita
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

Blood stains a religious icon of the Virgin Mary and child inside the Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church, during a memorial service, a day after a suicide bombing, in Dweil'a on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki, File)

Omar Sanadiki
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

Pope Leo XIV arrives on his pope mobile before celebrating a Mass for the Jubilee of Families, in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

Andrew Medichini
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

Worshippers gather for Easter Mass inside the ruins of St. George Melkite Catholic Church, damaged by Israeli airstrike, in Dardghaya, southern Lebanon, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

Hassan Ammar
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

A Christian pilgrim rests her head while praying during Easter Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, in Jerusalem's Old City, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean, File)

Mahmoud Illean
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

A portrait of the late Pope Francis is projected onto a water fountain at Magic Water Circuit, in Lima, Peru, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia, File)

Martin Mejia
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

Girls, wearing crowns made of flowers, dance during the 'Sanziene' midsummer festival at the Dimitrie Gusti Village Museum, in Bucharest, Romania, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru, File)

Andreea Alexandru
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

A masked monk stands behind a curtain, assisting a dancer in preparing for a traditional performance, during Gyalpo Losar, the Sherpa community's New Year celebration, at Shechen Monastery, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Feb. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha, File)

Niranjan Shrestha
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish children dress up in costumes during school ahead of the Jewish holiday of Purim, in Jerusalem, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, File)

Ohad Zwigenberg
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

A woman wades into the waters of Ramirez Beach as part of a ritual honoring the African sea goddess Yemanja, in Montevideo, Uruguay, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico, File)

Matilde Campodonico
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

Naga Sadhus or Naked Hindu holy men take a bath at the Sangam, the confluence of three sacred rivers the Yamuna, the Ganges and the mythical Saraswati, on Vasant Panchami, during the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh state, India, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Channi Anand, File)

Channi Anand
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

Greek Orthodox faithful hold up a wooden crucifix after it was retrieved in the Golden Horn during the Epiphany ceremony, in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)

Khalil Hamra
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

A man rides a horse through a bonfire as part of a ritual in honor of Saint Anthony the Abbot, the patron saint of domestic animals, in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)

Manu Fernandez
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

Palestinians sit at a large table surrounded by the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings as they gather for iftar, the fast-breaking meal, as the sun sets, on the first day of Ramadan, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, File)

Abdel Kareem Hana
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

People with skull make up on their faces, march during the Paseo de las Animas parade as part of the Day of the Dead celebrations, in Merida, Mexico, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Zetina, File)

Martin Zetina
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

A view of the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

Alessandra Tarantino
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

Revelers take part in the Devils and Congos Festival, in Portobelo, Panama, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

Matias Delacroix
YE Religion 2025 Photo Gallery

Followers from the Layene brotherhood gather near a sacred grotto where they believe their prophet received divine inspiration, in Ngor, Senegal, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag, File)

Annika Hammerschlag
0 Comments

Related to this collection

Buddhist monks and their dog captivate Americans while walking for peace

Buddhist monks and their dog captivate Americans while walking for peace

A group of Buddhist monks is getting viral attention with their 2,300-mile Walk for Peace from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C.

Immigration crackdown fears, new war worries and anti-Muslim rhetoric cloud Ramadan in US

Immigration crackdown fears, new war worries and anti-Muslim rhetoric cloud Ramadan in US

Muslims across the United States are observing Ramadan under rising fears tied to immigration raids, anti-Muslim rhetoric, and war in the Middle East.

McDowell News
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Sites & Partners

  • Place an Ad
  • Today's Deal
  • Event Calendar
  • Join Our Team
  • Newsletter Signup

Services

  • Manage Subscription
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Licensing
  • Dealer Returns
  • Shopping
© Copyright 2026 The McDowell News, P.O. Box 968 Marion, NC 28603
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Advertising Terms of Use | Do Not Sell My Info | Cookie Preferences
Powered by BLOX Content Management System from bloxdigital.com.

You are logged in
 Switch accounts
Secure transaction. Cancel anytime. Have an account? Log In

Sign Up

Account processing issue - the email address may already exist

User information
This is the name that will be used to identify you within the system. Choose wisely!
Your real name will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more!
Your email address will be used to confirm your account. We won't share it with anyone else.
Create a password that only you will remember. If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address.
Confirm your password.
Have an account? Log In

You're all set!

Thank you .

Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.

Check your email for details.

OK

Log In

Invalid password or account does not exist

Forgot your password?
Email me a log in link
Admin login Subscribe
Need an account? Sign Up

Reset Password

Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.

Forgot Password

An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.

Email me a log in link

Promotional Offers

No promotional rates found.

Purchase Gift Purchase Access

An error occurred

Secure & Encrypted

What's your email address?
What's your name?
Who is this gift for?
Who is this gift from?
Delivery date
What's your billing location?
What's your delivery address?
Subtotal:
Total:
How would you like to pay?
Add New Card

Secure transaction. Secure transaction. Cancel anytime.

You're all set!

Thank you.

Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.

A receipt was sent to your email.

OK

An error occurred

This offer is currently unavailable.