It’s hard to pin down exactly what makes a space feel sacred. But walk through the hallowed passages of a majestic temple or kneel at the foot of an ancient tomb, and you may feel the sacred to be an almost palpable force.

For the past 38 years, Faith & Form magazine and the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture have hosted an annual awards program for architects and artists around the world who evoke this sacred feel in works of religious architecture and design.

For artists and architects, the task of evoking the divine through structures and shapes is a difficult one, said Michael J. Crosbie, editor-in-chief of Faith & Form.

“They have to provide space for a liturgical action, the collection of a congregation in a place to worship, and for people to be in communion through the expression of faith,” Crosbie told The Huffington Post.

On top of that, religious architecture typically reflects the traditions and forms of a particular faith and distinguishes itself in some way from the other buildings that surround it, he noted.

“The architecture of the sacred must transcend the everyday, in some way,” Crosbie said. “It must take us out of ourselves, make us part of something greater, must refresh the congregation in its belief and in its faith, and connect us to each other, and to something beyond all of us.”

Evoking this sense of transcendence is the architect’s “greatest challenge,” he added. “There isn’t a formula or a set of rules to follow about how it can be achieved.”

This year’s winners for the International Awards Program for Religious Art & Architecture capture the sacred in diverse ways. A panel of five independent judges ― comprised of architects, artists and religious leaders ― selected the winners, which feature a mixture art, architecture, unbuilt projects and student work. They are all either new projects or renovations of existing works, and roughly half were designed or created for sites outside of North America.

The award winners receive recognition of their work in the Faith & Form magazine and will also be honored at an awards presentation ceremony in May at the annual convention of the American Institute of Architects, Crosbie said.

View the 28 winners of the 2016 Faith & Form/IFRAA Religious Art and Architecture Award below:

Jumaa Mosque Hufton Crow John McAslan + Partners; Jumaa Mosque; Doha, Qatar; New Facilies; Photo: Hufton + Crow

Chapel of St. Ignatius Nathan Kirkman John Ronan Architects; Chapel of St. Ignatius; Chicago, Illinois; New Facilities; Photo: Nathan Kirkman

St. Patricks Cathedral Whitney Cox Murphy Burnham & Buttrick Architects; St. Patrick’s Cathedral; New York, New York; Restoration

Palm Beach Synagogue Kim Sargent Arthur Chabon Architect; Palm Beach Synagogue; Palm Beach, Florida; Liturgical/Interior Design

Mary As Prophet B Cayce Ramey Margaret Adams Parker; “Mary As Prophet”; Virginia Theological Seminary; Alexandria, Virginia; Visual Arts

Mysteries of the Rosary Steve Maylone Scott Parsons; “Mysteries of the Rosary”; Our Lady of Loreto » Foxfield, Colorado; Visual Arts

Cathedral of St. Thomas Courtesy of Faith Form Ranjit John Korah; Cathedral of St. Thomas; Cochin, Kerala, India; Student Work

Chapel of the Good Shepherd Luka Markez Robert Dolinar; Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Alojzij Šuštar Primary School; Ljubljana, Slovenia; New Facilities; Photo: Luca Markez

Totihue Chapel Nico Saieh Gonzalo Mardones Arquitectos; Totihue Chapel; Totihue, Chile; New Facilities; Photo: Nico Saieh

Al Warqa’a Mosque Sadao Hotta ibda design; Al Warqa’a Mosque; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; New Facilities; Photo: Sadao Hotta

Chinmaya Mission Austin Paul Finkel/Piston Design Miró Rivera Architects; Chinmaya Mission Austin; Austin, Texas; New Facilities; Photo: Paul Finkel / Piston Design

The Joyful Church Seunghoon Yum The Beck Group; The Joyful Church; Pohang, South Korea; New Facilities; Photo: Seunghoon Yum

St. Francis Chapel Nicholas McWhirter Stocker Hoesterey Montenegro Architects; St. Francis Chapel; Breckenridge, Texas; New Facilities; Photo: Nicholas McWhirter

Temple Israel of Hollywood Eric Staudenmaier Koning Eizenberg Architecture. Temple Israel of Hollywood; Los Angeles, California; Adaptive Reuse/Repurpose; Photo: Eric Staudenmaier

Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun Synagogue Chris Cooper FXFOWLE; Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun Synagogue; New York, New York; Restoration

St. Cecilia Church Bruce T Martin Photography Donham & Sweeney Architects; St. Cecilia Church; Boston, Massachusetts; Renovation

Knock Shrine Basilica Peter Moloney Wejchert Architects; Knock Basilica Interior Design; Knock, County Mayo, Ireland; Liturgical/Interior Design

Temple Adath Tom Crane Atkin Olshin Schade Architects; Temple Adath Israel; Merion Station, Pennsylvania; Liturgical/Interior Design

Sacred Heart Cathedral of Kericho Edmund Sumner John McAslan + Partners; Sacred Heart Cathedral of Kericho; Kericho, Kenya; Liturgical/Interior Design

8-Shaped Passage Masaru Niimi Shoji Oshio + UA architects; 8-Shaped Passage; Ueno, Tokyo, Japan; Sacred Landscape

St. Thomas More Font RMA Photography Dekker / Perich / Sabatini; Baptismal Font; St. Thomas More Catholic Church; Oceanside, California; Liturgical Furnishings

Pipe Organ Sherman Chu Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, Ltd.; Pipe Organ; St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church; Carmel Valley, California; Liturgical Furnishings

Torah Ark Ken Gutmaker Studio Bondy Architecture; Torah Ark, Bema, and Screen; Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School; Palo Alto, California; Liturgical Furnishings

Basilica de N.Senora de la Merced Façade Rehab Courtesy of Faith Form Eleftherios Piskitzis, Architect; Basilica de N.Senora de la Merced Façade Rehab; Madrid, Spain; Unbuilt Work

City of Spirits Courtesy of Faith Form Rafaela Paes; “City of Spirits”; Recife, Brazil; Student Work

Pop-Up Places of Worship Courtesy of Faith Form Lucas Boyd and Chad Greenlee; “Pop-Up Places of Worship”; Various Locations; Student Work

The Chapel of St. Adalbert Courtesy of Faith Form Filip Strzelecki; “The Chapel of St. Adalbert”; Fiszewo, Poland; Student Work

The Procession of the Souls Travis Price Travis Price Architects with The Catholic University of America; “The Procession of the Souls”; Swinford, County Mayo, Ireland; Student Work