Pope Benedict XVI arrives at the Santa Sabina Basilica for the Ash Wednesday service on March 9, 2011 in Rome, Italy. Ash Wednesday opens the liturgical 40-day period of Lent, a period of prayer, fasting, penitence and alms giving leading up to Easter.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrives at the Christchurch Airport on June 7, 2011 in Christchurch, New Zealand. The Dalai Lama requested a visit to Christchurch ahead of his Australian tour to see damaged caused by the February earthquake that devastated the city. He will speak and offer prayers at a free public event at Canterbury Arena on Wednesday. (Photo by Martin Hunter/Getty Images)

A Hindu holy man, or sadhu, sits beside a fire after smearing his body with ashes at the premises of Pashupatinath Temple, ahead of the Shivaratri festival in Kathmandu, Nepal February 21, 2017. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting, with sadhus arriving at Pashupatinath to take part in the event, which takes place on February 24. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

From the rocks of Arnhem Land to the backyards of the Sydney suburbs, from stretching by the pool to waiting for evening prayer, snapshots for the 2015 Australian Life prize demonstrated a nation in colour and motion. Here: Children Cooling Off at Dhiari Homeland. Local children get wet and cool in Arnhem Land. (Photo by Matthew Abbott/Australian Life Prize 2015)

A Nepalese Hindu devotee takes a holy bath as they mark the Mother's Day Festival at Matathirtha on the outskirts of Kathmandu on May 6, 2016. Nepalese Hindu devotees come from across the country to bathe, offer prayers and leave offerings at the Matathirtha Temple during the event, which honours mothers who have passed away. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)

Hindu devotees perform rituals during the Bol Bom pilgrimage, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, August 8, 2016. During this pilgrimage, devotees walk miles barefooted before offering water collected from Bagmati river, at the Pashupatinath temple in Katmandu. Shravan Somwar or Monday of Hindu calendar month of Shravan is considered auspicious for offering prayers to Lord Shiva, the god of destruction. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

A woman has her hands painted with traditional henna as she attends Eid al-Adha prayers at historical Badshahi mosque in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, June 17, 2024. Eid al-Adha or Feast of Sacrifice, the most important Islamic holiday, marks the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahim, Abraham to Christians and Jews, to sacrifice his son. During the holiday, which in most places lasts three days, Muslims slaughter goat, sheep or cattle, distribute part of the meat to the poor. (Photo by K.M. Chaudary/AP Photo)

Pakistani Muslims attend an Eid Al-Fitr prayer service, in Hyderabad, Pakistan, 31 March 2025. Muslims around the world have begun celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the three-day festival which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. During Eid al-Fitr, most people travel to visit each other in town or outside of it and children receive new clothes and money to spend for the occasion. (Photo by Nadeem Khawer/EPA/EFE)