PHOTO GALLERY: Christians around the world celebrate Easter as the pope makes a surprise appearance

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A Christian pilgrim rests her head while praying during Easter Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in Jerusalem’s Old City, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

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Catholics carry a statue of Jesus Christ during an Easter procession in Panama City’s Casco Viejo, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

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Ukrainian Roman Catholic believers celebrate Easter in a cathedral in Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

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

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Pope Francis tours St. Peter’s Square in his popemobile after bestowing the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for to the city and to the world) blessing at the end of the Easter mass presided over by Cardinal Angelo Comastri in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Sunday, April 20, 2025.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

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Christians attend an Easter Mass at the St. John’s Cathedral, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

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Metropolitan Inokentiy, the leader of Orthodox Church in Lithuania, leads the Easter vigil Mass at the Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius, Lithuania, shortly after midnight on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

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Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, right, the spiritual leader of the world’s Eastern Orthodox Christians, leads the Easter Sunday Resurrection liturgy, marking the end of the Holy Week at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

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Dean of the College of Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re baptizes a woman as he leads the Easter vigil inside St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

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Father Henadii blesses a girl and Easter basket during the celebration of Orthodox Easter at St. John Theologian Church of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/George Ivanchenko)

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Father Konstantin, right, blesses traditional Easter cakes and painted eggs in preparation for Easter celebrations outside of the Epiphany Cathedral at Yelokhovo on Great Holy Saturday in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

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An elderly woman prepares her Easter baskets to be blessed during celebration of the Orthodox Easter in Krasne village, Ukraine, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

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Revelers wearing decorated hats and costumes participate in the annual Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Sunday, April 20, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

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A trader pulls a sheep to sell in a street market a day before Ethiopian Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter Sunday,in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo)

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Christian faithful of the Legio Maria African Mission, attend the Easter vigil Mass in the informal settlement of Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

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Father Henadii blesses Easter baskets during celebration of Orthodox Easter at St. John Theologian Church of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/George Ivanchenko)

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A child rests her head on a pew frontal during the Orthodox Easter service at the Armenian cathedral in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

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Filipino Catholic devotees light candles during Easter Sunday rites at the St. Peter Chapels in Quezon City, Philippines, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)

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Two young women carry their baskets containing traditional cakes and painted eggs as Believers wait to be blessed by a Russian Orthodox priest, in preparation for an Easter celebration at the St. Boris and Gleb Monastery in the old Russian town of Dmitrov, some 70 km (44 miles) north of Moscow, Russia, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

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Christian Orthodox worshippers attend the Easter Sunday Resurrection liturgy, marking the end of the Holy Week at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

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A church destroyed in fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces is seen during celebration of the Orthodox Easter in Lukashivka village, Ukraine, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

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Ethiopian Orthodox Christian worshippers hold candles during the Holy Fire ceremony at the Ethiopian monks’ village Deir Al-Sultan, located on the rooftop of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in Jerusalem’s Old City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

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A Christian Orthodox worshipper attends the Easter Sunday Resurrection liturgy, marking the end of the Holy Week at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

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Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Eastern Orthodox Christians, leads the Easter Sunday Resurrection liturgy, marking the end of the Holy Week at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

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People stand in line to kiss an icon during the celebration of Orthodox Easter at Cross Lower Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/George Ivanchenko)

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A woman lights a candle during the celebration of Orthodox Easter at St. John Theologian Church of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/George Ivanchenko)

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A woman attends the Orthodox Easter service at the Armenian cathedral in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

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Catholics carry a statue of Jesus Christ during an Easter procession in Panama City’s Casco Viejo, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Faithful Christians around the world celebrated on Sunday the resurrection of Jesus Christ, from Vatican City where Pope Francis made a surprise appearance in his popemobile, to Ukraine, where a temporary Easter truce with Russia appeared in doubt in parts of the nation.

Considered the most important holiday in the Christian liturgical calendar, Easter this year falls on the same day for Catholics and Orthodox Christians.

In Rome, thousands cheered and clamored to take photos of Pope Francis as he rode through St. Peter’s Square to bless the crowd. The 88-year-old pope is still recovering from a near-fatal bout of double pneumonia.

“Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter!” said Francis, who was released from the hospital March 23 following a five-week stay. He didn’t celebrate the Easter Mass in the piazza this year, instead delegating it to the retired archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica.

While a joyous time for many, marked by egg hunts and family gatherings, Easter services were a sign of resilience among the faithful in some parts of the world. In southern Lebanon, Easter Mass was held amid rubble inside St. George Melkite Catholic Church. The 18th-century church was damaged in December by an Israeli airstrike.

The following is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.