The Easter bank holiday weekend is almost upon us, with the UK set to enjoy days off on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Easter Monday.
On Maundy Thursday, celebrations were beginning around the world as Pope Francis, still recovering from double pneumonia, paid a surprise visit to Rome's Regina Coeli, one of Italy's most overcrowded prisons, to offer well-wishes to inmates.
It is a prison the Pope has visited before to perform the annual Holy Thursday ritual of washing the feet of 12 people to re-enact Christ's gesture of humble service of washing the feet of 12 apostles before his crucifixion.
The Vatican did not say if he would perform the ritual this year. But the fact that the 88-year-old pope kept the appointment, when he is under doctors' orders to take it easy and avoid crowds, was a clear sign of the importance he places on prison ministry and the need for priests to serve those most on the margins.
Sir Keir Starmer has, meanwhile, paid tribute to Christians "facing hardship, persecution or conflict around the world who cannot celebrate freely" in an Easter message.
According to the 2024 World Watch list, an annual report published by Open Doors, around 365 million Christians are subject to "high levels of persecution and discrimination", and in 2023 4,998 Christians were killed for faith-related reasons.
In his Easter statement, Sir Keir said: "As Lent comes to an end and we move into the Easter weekend, I want to wish Christians everywhere remembering the death and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ a very happy Easter. The story of Easter is central to the Christian faith: it is a story of hope, redemption and renewal.
"This Easter, as churches hold special services across the UK, and gather to celebrate with friends and family, we remember those Christians facing hardship, persecution or conflict around the world who cannot celebrate freely.”
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The weekend will be a mix of sunshine and showers for most of the UK.
A yellow warning for a "prolonged spell of rain" has been issued for Good Friday in south-west England by the Met Office, meaning difficult driving conditions with some disruption to travel likely. Traffic is already starting to get busy as millions of people make trips across the country for the four-day weekend.
Here are some of the best pictures from around the world ahead of Easter.
