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Three Filipino believers hang from three wooden crosses during the depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Photo: Joeal Calupitan/AP/dpa
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On Good Friday, dozens of people in the Philippines had themselves nailed to wooden crosses in an extreme act of faith. With this ritual and other acts of self-mortification, Catholics in the Southeast Asian island state commemorate the suffering and death of Christ. Other believers beat themselves on the back with whips until they were covered in blood.
The main site of the self-crucifixions is the town of San Pedro Cutud in the province of Pampanga, around 60 kilometers north of the capital Manila. Thousands of onlookers gathered there. The 64-year-old Ruben Enaje took on the leading role for the 36th time.
He carried a 27-kilogram wooden cross almost two kilometers to a hill where the crucifixions took place. In the nearby village of Santa Lucia, 60-year-old construction worker Joselito Capili was nailed to the cross for the 20th time. Despite high temperatures, Catholics across the country gathered in churches and took part in processions. The Catholic Church does not encourage such extreme acts of faith, but does little to stop this practice in the Philippines. Easter is the most important religious festival in the Philippines, where more than 90 million Catholics live. After Brazil and Mexico, the Philippines is the third largest Catholic country in the world.
18.04.2025, 15:16
