Centuries-Old Passion Play Returns After Pandemic Break

Cast members perform during the rehearsal of the 42nd Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany,, May 4.

Photographer: Matthias Schrader/AP

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Oberammergau, Germany (AP) -- Almost 400 years ago, the Catholic residents of a small Bavarian village vowed to perform a play of “the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ” every 10 years, if only God would spare them any further losses from the plague known as the Black Death.