Places of worship and devotion are spread throughout populated regions. Parish churches played an important role in the daily lives of people throughout their lifetime; the church introducing new-borns to the community through baptism, staging adolescent ceremonies, such as confirmation, through to marriages and funerals. Most parish churches are surrounded by a cemetery, with the church used for services and prayers for the dead, for thanksgiving ceremonies and prayers to find solutions to the problems of daily life. All of these ceremonies relate to various donations and gifts to the church. The celebration of Mass is another important aspect of devotion. Some parish churches also became places of pilgrimage.