Rites Around the World

A group of children pray the Christmas Novena while recreating a living Nativity scene
on Dec. 16, 2011, at the Chorro de Quevedo Square in the neighborhood of La Candelaria
in downtown Bogota, Colombia.

A Christian boy lights a candle at the Church of the Nativity in the biblical West Bank city of Bethlehem on Dec. 17, 2011, as Christian pilgrims and tourists are expected to descend to
the traditional birthplace of Jesus to celebrate Christmas eve on Dec. 24.

Pakistani Christians pray at the Cathedral church in Lahore on Dec. 18, 2011.

Pakistani Christians pray at the Cathedral church in Lahore on Dec. 18, 2011.

Syrian Christians attend Christmas Day mass at the Saint George Monastery in Mishtaya, some
50 kms from Homs, on December 25, 2011. Escaping a city wracked by incessant violence, Syrian Christians from Homs flock to a nearby monastery to celebrate Christmas away from a place
that has 'lost its senses.'

Pakistani Christians women pray around illuminated display of nativity scenes specially set up during Christmas celebrations at a Christian neighborhood in Islamabad on December 25, 2011. There is a tiny Christian minority in Pakistan, where only three percent of the population of 167 million are estimated to be non-Muslim.

An Indian woman helps a child to light a candle as Christians gather to celebrate Christmas
at the Sacred Heart Cathedral on Christmas Day, December 25, 2011 in New Delhi, India.
A diverse variety of religions are practiced by the Indian population with Christianity being
the third largest, consisting of approximately 25 million followers and constituting roughly
2.3% of the population.

Bishop Shlemon Warduni, the second most senior Chaldean in Iraq, leads the start
of Christmas mass at the Virgin Mary Chaldean Christian church (Church of Our Lady
of Sacred Heart) in the capital Baghdad on December 25, 2011.

An Indian dressed as an angel lights candles on Christmas Eve at St. Paul's church in Amritsar on December 24, 2011.

A U.S. Chaplain (second right) with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) attends a ceremony on Christmas Eve inside a church at the ISAF's headquarters
in Kabul, Afghanistan on Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011.

Christmas creche in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011, in New York

Nepalese Christians pray at the Catholic Assumption Church in Lalitpur on the outskirts of Kathamandu during Christmas Eve, December 24, 2011.

Christian Pakistani women decorate the Christ Church in Karachi on December 24, 2011.

Iraqi Christians attend Christmas mass at the Virgin Mary Chaldean Christian church
in Baghdad on December 24, 2011.

Chaldean priest Saad Syrop leads Christmas Eve mass in Baghdad, Iraq,
Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011.

St. Peter's Basilica during the unveiling ceremony of the crib in St Peter's Square at the Vatican, December 24, 2011.

Pope Benedict XVI lights a candle in his private window, at the end
of the unveiling ceremony of the crib in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican,
December 24, 2011. Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate holy mass
at St. Peter's Basilica to mark the nativity of Jesus Christ.

Worshipers attend a Christmas service at Moscow's Cathedral of Virgin Mary Immaculate Conception on December 24, 2011.

A priest holds a Christmas service at Moscow's Cathedral of Virgin Mary Immaculate Conception on December 24, 2011.

An Eastern European pilgrim prays at the entrance to the Grotto in the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 24, 2011.

Palestinian girls dressed in traditional garb pose in Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity as Christians gather for Christmas celebrations in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 24, 2011, to celebrate in Jesus Christ's traditional birthplace.

A worshiper prays in the Church of Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 24, 2011, as Christians gather for Christmas mass.

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Holy Land, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fuad Twal, stands outside the Church of the Nativity in the Biblical West Bank city of Bethlehem, December 24, 2011, as the Holy Land prepares to mark Christmas.

Christians and others gather in Manger Square, the central plaza next to the Church of the Nativity, as people ready to celebrate Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 24, 2011.

A South Korean man lights candles at Myeongdong Catholic Cathedral in Seoul on December 24, 2011.