A nighttime shot from the parking lot of St. Margaret's church in Palm Desert would normally show the cross on top of the hill, illuminated and visible from most locations on the valley floor.

Cross banners: a Palm Sunday project First Reformed UCC members sew, glue, paint and appliqué 13 handmade banners in undertaking that will lead to Palm Sunday procession in downtown Lancaster.

Church officials had to scramble for more palms to pass out by the end of Mass. Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley celebrated Palm Sunday Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, in the South End.

Neighbors in a Burlingame neighborhood are coming together to try to find a missing crucifix that was reportedly stolen two weeks ago. It belongs to Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church.

Among the participants was the U.S. photographer Andres Serrano, creator of the controversial 1987 “Piss Christ” image, a photograph of a plastic crucifix submerged in urine.