Philippines devotees nailed to crosses to re enact Christ s crucifixion

CUTID, Philippines – Some Christian devotees from the Philippines were nailed to a cross on April 18 in a re-enactment of Jesus Christ’s Crucifixion in the predominantly Catholic nation.

Hundreds of Filipinos and foreign tourists flocked to the northern village of San Pedro Cutud in Pampanga province to witness Mr Ruben Enaje nailed to the cross and portraying Christ for the 36th time in an annual devotional display.

Two other devotees joined him in re-enacting the Crucifixion.

Actors dressed as Roman soldiers hammered Mr Enaje’s palms with 5cm nails. Ropes and fabric supported their bodies as they were raised on wooden crosses.

“The first five seconds were very painful. As time goes and the blood goes down, the pain numbs and I can stay on the cross longer,” Mr Enaje, 64, said in an interview.

Around 80 per cent of the Philippines’ 110 million people identify as Roman Catholics.

The rituals form part of Holy Week, which lasts from Palm Sunday on April 13 to Easter Sunday on April 20, and is one of the most sacred and solemn periods in the Philippines’ religious calendar.

During Holy Week, some devotees flog their backs repeatedly with bamboo whips in an act of self-flagellation in penance and to seek atonement.

The Catholic Church has discouraged the practice, saying prayers and sincere repentance are enough to commemorate Lent. REUTERS

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