With the Holy Week ending, many Filipinos celebrated it by spending time in churches and beaches. But a unique and gory tradition paused because the COVID-19 pandemic resumed for the first time, drawing thousands of tourists from the Philippines and abroad.

A Filipino Catholic devotee was nailed to a cross for a reenactment of Jesus Christ's crucifixion in observance of Good Friday, in the central province of Pampanga. (Reuters) pic.twitter.com/cD0IO3igMd

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As part of their repentance and show of faith, some Filipinos re-enact the life and suffering of Jesus Christ by being nailed to the cross themselves during Good Friday, a bloody but longstanding tradition that the Catholic Church in the country disapproves of and yet still remains today.

For this year’s Good Friday, dozens of villagers in the farming town of San Pedro Cutud in Pampanga registered to participate in real-life crucifixions, but only eight men showed up.

One of these eight men was Ruben Enaje, a 62-year-old sign painter who had already been crucified 34 times before in San Pedro Cutud. Enaje said during a news conference after being briefly nailed to a wooden cross that he prayed for the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war to end, contributing to rising inflation in the Philippines.

“It’s just these two countries involved in that war, Russia and Ukraine, but all of us are being affected,” Enaje said. During the news conference, he appeared well despite the two bandages on his hands that he showed to the journalists.

This is madness

— Buju Banton. (@Nanabrako7) April 9, 2023

A father of four children, Enaje said he initially wanted to end his extraordinary penitence because of his age, but he decided with finality before Lent next year. While the pain from being crucified was not as intense as before, Enaje said he still felt uneasy every time he got nailed to the cross.

“To be honest, I always feel nervous because I could end up dead on the cross,” Enaje told the Associated Press before the procedure. “When I’m lying down on the cross, my body begins to feel cold. When my hands are tied, I just close my eyes and tell myself: ‘I can do this. I can do this.’”

This gruesome act of repentance is part of the Philippines’ unique brand of Catholicism that has been mixed with folk traditions. During the Holy Week, some repentants would show their faith and repentance by beating themselves with sharp bamboo sticks and wood to atone for their sins, pray for healing, and give thanks for a better life. 

When Holy Week arrives in the Philippines, it’s common to see half-naked men walking on the streets with bloodied backs and self-flagellating with sharp bamboo sticks and wood pieces. Nevertheless, despite being commonly observed during Lent, these practices are frowned upon by the Catholic Church leaders who insist that Filipinos don’t need to endure extreme suffering to atone for their sins and show their deep religious faith.

From Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, here's how the Catholic faithful in the Philippines observe Holy Week. #HolyWeek2023 https://t.co/BEmZOcfuMG

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Robert Reyes, a Catholic priest and human rights activist, said that Folk Catholicism had been deeply entrenched in the Philippines, showing the church's failure to teach Christian tenets to Filipinos properly.

He also cited another famous religious festival in the Philippines, the Procession of the Black Nazarene every January, where devotees would attempt to approach the statue of the Black Nazarene in the crowded streets of Manila to wipe their towels and handkerchiefs on the figure, believing it could cure sickness and enhance life.

“The question is, where were we church people when they started doing this?” Reyes said. “If we judge them, we’ll just alienate them,” he also added, saying that the clergy should immerse themselves in communities more and talk to villagers.

Even though the church has frowned upon these bloody practices, the spectacle in San Pedro Cutud still draws as many as 15,000 tourists from both the Philippines and abroad.