A multitude of evangelical Christians mobilized across Venezuela on Saturday (Aug. 2) during the March for Jesus, an event officially declared months earlier as the “National Day of the March for Jesus” by the Venezuelan government through a presidential decree.

The date was recently changed — amid controversy — to be celebrated on the first Saturday of August each year, establishing the march as a spiritual, cultural, and social demonstration aimed at transcending religious denominations.

According to the Latin Evangelical Alliance (AEL), delegations from evangelical churches across all 23 states and the Capital District participated in the event. Believers of various nationalities and denominations also joined, marching with banners, flags, and T-shirts bearing the event’s theme, along with messages exalting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Along the way, songs, praises, prayers, and calls for unity could be heard. This year’s theme was: “Jesus, the nations belong to You.”