Next time you’re in a beautiful church, please do bow your head in prayer. But when you’re done, remember to gaze heavenward.

[See also: 21 Mesmerizing Photos of the World’s Most Beautiful Churches]

[See also: Wow! Medieval Cathedrals Used to Be Full of Brilliant Colors]

Here are 21 pictures of beautiful church ceilings. You can click on any image to enlarge it.

Enjoy!

Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood – St. Petersburg, Russia

Hendrik Terbeck / Flickr
Hendrik Terbeck / Flickr

Santa Maria della Vittoria – Rome, Italy

Lawrence OP / Flickr
Lawrence OP / Flickr

St. Stephen’s Basilica – Budapest, Hungary

Miroslav Petrasko / Flickr
Miroslav Petrasko / Flickr

Sagrada Familia – Barcelona, Spain

shin--k / Flickr
shin–k / Flickr

Church of the Holy Sepulchre – Jerusalem

Werner Kunz / Flickr
Werner Kunz / Flickr

Church of the Gesù – Rome, Italy

Gerwin Filius / Flickr
Gerwin Filius / Flickr

Sainte-Chapelle – Paris, France

Loïc Lagarde / Flickr
Loïc Lagarde / Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Tempio Civico della Beata Vergine Incoronata – Lodi, Italy

Giovanni / Flickr
Giovanni / Flickr

Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière – Lyon, France

Dennis Jarvis / Flickr
Dennis Jarvis / Flickr

Horezu Monastery – Horezu, Romania

fusion-of-horizons / Flickr
fusion-of-horizons / Flickr

Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis – St. Louis, MO

Thomas Hawk / Flickr
Thomas Hawk / Flickr

[See also: Behold, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, Hidden Gem of the Midwest]

Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere – Rome, Italy

András Fülöp / Flickr
András Fülöp / Flickr

Holy Savior Cathedral – Isfahan, Iran

Jurriaan Persyn / Flickr
Jurriaan Persyn / Flickr

Hagia Sophia – Istanbul, Turkey

Hervé BRY / Flickr
Hervé BRY / Flickr

Isaakievskiy Sobor – St. Petersburg, Russia

Benjamin Jakabek / Flickr
Benjamin Jakabek / Flickr

St. Peter’s Basilica – Vatican City

Jason Pier in DC / Flickr
Jason Pier in DC / Flickr

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception – Washington D.C.

YU-JEN SHIH / Flickr
YU-JEN SHIH / Flickr

Baptistry of Saint John – Florence, Italy

Shane Lin / Flickr
Shane Lin / Flickr

Morelia Cathedral – Morelia, Mexico

Jiuguang Wang / Flickr
Jiuguang Wang / Flickr

Sant’Andrea della Valle – Rome, Italy

Albert / Flickr
Albert / Flickr

And of course…

Sistine Chapel – Vatican City

Philip Milne / Flickr
Philip Milne / Flickr
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