Corpus Christi celebrations

A girl in the house of San Juan (St John), the patron saint of Ocumare de la Costa in Aragua, Venezuela on the eve of San Juan Day which this year coincided with the Corpus Christi festival Photograph: Jorge Silva/Reuters

A priest blesses the congregation during a Corpus Christi mass in Mexico City Photograph: Reuters

Catholics attend a procession during the Corpus Christi celebration in Esplanada dos Ministérios, Brasília, Brazil Photograph: Fernando Bizerra Jr/EPA

A child dressed in a traditional Chinelos outfit stands with his parents outside a church in Mexico City Photograph: Reuters

Children take part in a Corpus Christi procession in the city of Swinoujscie, Poland Photograph: Agencja Gazeta/Reuters

Participants dressed in traditional Bavarian folk costumes wait for the beginning of the annual Corpus Christi procession at Seehausen, Germany Photograph: Johannes Simon/Getty Images

Dancers wearing traditional Chinelos outfits dance on the street during Mexico City's Corpus Christi celebrations Photograph: Reuters

Light trails are produced by faithful carrying candles as they walk past the cathedral during a Corpus Christi procession in Brasília, Brazil Photograph: Eraldo Peres/AP

People dressed as devils lie on the ground as they pray during a parade in Ocumare de la Costa in the central state of Aragua, Venezuela Photograph: Jorge Silva/Reuters

People walk near an earthquake-damaged house during a Corpus Christi procession in Port-au-Prince, Haiti Photograph: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP

People wearing traditional devil costumes parade during celebrations in La Villa, Panama Photograph: Arnulfo Franco/AP

A man dressed as a devil takes part in a parade in Ocumare de la Costa in the central state of Aragua, Venezuela Photograph: Jorge Silva/Reuters

A woman works on a sawdust carpet outside the cathedral in Brasília, Brazil ahead of its celebrations Photograph: Eraldo Peres/AP

A man dressed in a butterfly costume runs past a Corpus Christi procession in the city of Lódz, Poland Photograph: Agencja Gazeta/Reuters

Pope Benedict XVI attends the Corpus Christi solemnity at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Italy Photograph: Franco Origlia/Getty Images