Cutud, PHILIPPINES:
A Philippine man who has been nailed to a cross every Easter for the past 32 years in a Good Friday re-enactment of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion says he no longer feels any pain from his wounds.
Ruben Enaje, 58, again portrayed Christ on Friday in the traditional religious rite in Cutud village, about 47 miles from the capital Manila.
“In the past, I went home injured and limping, but this year I feel so great,” Enaje said after the ritual held under a sweltering sun.
He said he believed his strong Catholic faith helped him avoid pain.
“I feel like he is telling me ‘go ahead, keep it up’,” he said, referring to God.
Easter is a festival marking the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
About 80 percent of the 105 million people in the Philippines, a former Spanish colony, are Catholic.
Enaje said he felt strong enough to perform in two or three more crucifixions until he turns 60.
Enaje was among three devotees nailed to wooden crosses in the village on Friday, including a woman taking part for the seventh time.
Actors wearing Roman soldier costumes attached the devotees to crosses by hammering two-inch nails soaked in alcohol through their hands and feet and hoisted them up in a field packed with domestic and foreign tourists.
Enaje, who was once a construction worker in the Philippines, fell down from an unfinished building, and unexpectedly survived. After the incident, saying that it was to thank the Lord saving him, Ruben started participating in crucifixions, of his own free will, in a ritual do on Good Friday every year. His crucifixions h led to media coverage.
1985
Enaje was crucified for his first time in 1985, during a reenactment of Jesus Christ of Nazareth's suffering.
2008
On March 21, 2008, Enaje, was nailed to a wooden cross on Good Friday for the 22nd ti in Pampanga, Philippines. 25 other penitents, including two women, were nailed on woode crosses on Good Friday in San Pedro Cutud.
2010:
Enaje was crucified again in his hometown, Pampanga, Philippines, this time for the 24th time, breaking his own record.
2011:
Like the years before, Enaje had four-inch nai hammered into his palms and was hung on cross for several minutes by local villagers dressed as Roman centurions.
2012:
2012's crucifixion was the 26th one for Enaje
2013:
2013 was his possible final year in which he plans to be crucified, since he promised God that he would be crucified 27 times as a for gratitude.
2016:
Still without any permanent replacement, Ena once again was crucified, along with 14 othe in different places in Pampanga. He spent 11 minutes on the cross. Enaje offered his 30th straight crucifixion to the people of Belgium, who had recently suffered from a terrorist attacks and praying for a more peaceful outcome of Philippine general election, 2016.
The Catholic Church in the Philippines tolerates the ritual but says it does not support such gory displays of devotion, describing them as a “misinterpretation of faith.”
Many Catholics in the Philippines perform religious acts of penance during the Holy Week at Easter as a form of worship and supplication.
Some believe penance cleanses sins, cures illnesses and even leads to wishes coming true.
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