Photos: Christian faithful mark Palm Sunday in Jerusalem

Thousands of Christian pilgrims took part in the celebration of Palm Sunday in Jerusalem at the start of Holy Week.

Worshipers carried palm fronds and olive branches and marched from the top of the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem’s historic Old City, home to holy sites of the three Abrahamic monotheistic religions.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa and other Catholic clergy participated in the traditional procession, handing out palm fronds to believers before leading them in a procession to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where, according to tradition, Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected.

Palm Sunday commemorates the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and is the beginning of the most solemn week of the Church, reenacting the crucifixion and death of Jesus on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter.

The procession ran from the Mount of Olives past the Garden of Gethsemane where, according to biblical tradition, Jesus was betrayed, and finally through the alleys of the old city.