Ingmar Ostermaier | Industrially Perfected
Nearly eighty years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the site continues to confront us with difficult questions.
The buildings remain. The silence remains. And so does the responsibility to remember.
Gabi Steiner | Where Stone Still Prays
The Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela show the deep history and spiritual life of Ethiopia. There are eleven churches, each carved from volcanic rock, in the western Ethiopian Highlands near Lalibela. King Gebre Meskel Lalibela of the Zagwe dynasty had them built to recreate Jerusalem in his own land. Today, the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Church still uses these churches, and they remain important pilgrimage sites. In 1978, UNESCO added the site to its World Heritage List to recognize its cultural and historical value.
Arkadiusz Kubisiak | Very Bright Summit
The Pauline Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland, was founded in 1382. It is the most important shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Poland and one of the most significant Marian pilgrimage sites in the world. For centuries, it has attracted pilgrims seeking spiritual guidance, prayer, and inspiration. Today, nearly 4 million pilgrims and visitors from 74 countries travel to the monastery every year.
Mieke Douglas | Santa Muerte Rosary
Though still officially rejected by the Catholic Church, devotion to Santa Muerte has surged since the early 2000s, emerging from private household altars into highly visible public rituals.
Yoram Biberman | The Kapparot Atonement Ritual
Kapparot is an atonement ritual practiced by some Jews on the eve of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. During the ceremony, a chicken is waved over a person's head while prayers are recited.
Frank Binder | Christmas in Lalibela
Each January, tens of thousands of pilgrims journey to Lalibela, a sacred town often described as the spiritual heart of Ethiopia. They arrive on foot, by bus, and from distant villages scattered across the Ethiopian highlands.
Inger Vandyke | Faith
Faith is the unwavering belief and deep trust in something beyond concrete evidence. It is a guiding principle that provides purpose, shapes human values, and acts as an anchor during times of uncertainty, whether directed toward a higher power, humanity, or one's own inner resilience.
Haris Kakarouhas | The Path Within
"I am not interested in documenting religion as an external phenomenon or describing different doctrines. What moves me is the shared human longing for transcendence; the desire to approach the Ineffable, to stand for a moment before something greater than oneself."
