A Nepalese Christian girl with a painted face during a religious gathering to mark Easter Sunday, Kathmandu

Christians around the globe have been celebrating Easter. Pope Francis presided over his first Easter Sunday Mass in St Peter's Square since being elected.

Pope Francis greets the faithful before his first Urbi et Orbi blessing from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica during Easter mass in the Vatican City

The Pope used his "Urbi et Orbi" address to call for peace in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and across the globe.

Francis hugs a child, one of the tens of thousands of people who attended the Mass at the Vatican.

In the UK, Queen Elizabeth II received flowers as she left St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle with Prince Philip after an Easter service.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, led an Easter service at Canterbury Cathedral.

A giant 5m effigy of Judas Iscariot burns in the Santa Rosa Xochiac church, in Mexico City. This Easter ritual is practised in many countries around the world, including parts of Latin America, Greece and the Philippines.

Brazilians dressed as angels and Bible characters join an Easter procession, along a carpet decorated with sawdust and flowers, in the city of Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais state

Catholic worshippers in Rakov, 45km (28 miles) north-west of the Belarusian capital, Minsk, take part in a Sunday procession.

American Christians pray during an Easter sunrise service in Scituate, Massachusetts.

In warmer climes, the heat took its toll on worshippers at an Easter Mass on Sunday in the Indian city of Bangalore.

Security was tight at St Joseph Chaldean Church in Baghdad for an Easter Mass.

Tight security too in Pakistan as worshippers attended churches across the country, including here in Islamabad.

Holy water is sprayed on a congregation in the Soweto area of Johannesburg in South Africa. Church gatherings were praying for the health of ailing former President Nelson Mandela.

In South Korea, the military tensions on the peninsula have been a key concern, and Catholics at the Myeongdong Cathedral in the capital, Seoul, prayed for peace.

Crowds gathered for a procession of the risen Christ, at dawn on Easter Sunday at a church in Mandaluyong City, Manila, the Philippines.

A group of Nepalese Christians pray during a gathering to mark Easter Sunday in Kathmandu. 1% of the Nepalese population of 30 million are Christians. Hinduism is the main religion                                                                                          

Men of the Sorbian community ride on decorated horses during the traditional Easter procession in Ralbitz, Germany. The Sorbs are a Slavic, Catholic minority group in eastern Germany

Christians pray at an Easter mass in a Christian neighbourhood in Islamabad, Pakistan

People watch the traditional Explosion of the Cart in Florence. A cart is packed with fireworks to provide a pyrotechnic spectacle, which is supposed to guarantee a good harvest and business prosperity

A man dressed as Jesus Christ takes part in a resurrection parade in Valencia, eastern Spain

A girl stands in front of crosses before a procession to celebrate Easter at a church in Icheon, South Korea

Celia de La Vega, secured by a harness, is transported above the crowd and a figure of the Virgin Mary during a descent of the angel ceremony on Easter Sunday in Tudela, northern Spain

A priest blesses the congregation at Regina Mundi church in Soweto

The Most Rev and Rt Hon Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, leads the Easter Sunday service at Canterbury Cathedral

Belarusian Roman Catholics take part in a procession around a church as they celebrate Easter in the small town of Rakov

Christians light candles during the Sunday Easter mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed to be the site of the crucifixion of Christ, in Jerusalem's old city

A woman kisses a statue of Christ during the Easter Sunday prayers at the Red Catholic Cathedral in Minsk, Belarus

A statue of the Risen Christ is carried during an Easter Sunday procession as confetti streams down in Cospicua, Malta

People are silhouetted against the rising sun during an Easter service in Massachusetts

cast Easter Sunday around the world

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Music the prayer Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli            created   o.e.

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