Graphic photos show Catholic faithfuls in the Philippines reenacting the crucifixion of Jesus and enduring being nailed to cross on Good Friday

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Several people in a rural part of the Philippines reenacted the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Friday — a Good Friday event that draws large crowds of Christians on Easter weekend. However, Catholic leaders in the country warned that religious Filipinos should show their devotion to their faith without repeating the suffering of their savior.

In a rural farming village north of the country’s capital Manila, eight people endured being nailed to crosses — including 62-year-old carpenter Ruben Enajem, crucified in this reenactment tradition 34 times, according to the Associated Press. 

The decades-long tradition — which takes place in San Pedro Cutud and other nearby villages — is back for the first time in three years since it was paused because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thousands of people, including many foreign tourists, attended the gruesome ritual. 

Ruben Enaje grimaces as a nail is removed from one of his hands during a reenactment of Jesus Christ’s sufferings as part of Good Friday rituals April 7, 2023. Aaron Favila/ Associated Press

The villagers wore thorny crowns of twigs and carried wooden crosses on their backs for more than half a mile in very high temperatures. Other actors in Roman centurion costumes hammered nails into the hands of those being crucified — and they stayed on the cross for about 10 minutes. 

Others walked barefoot through streets and beat their backs in acts of penance and self-flagellation.

Similar events occur across other parts of the archipelago nation, including the country’s capital, during Holy Week. 

Flagellants are being whipped with bamboo strips called “Bulyos” at Barangay Bangkulasi during the commemoration of the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday. Josefiel Rivera/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Days before Good Friday, Enajem told the Associated Press his days of imitating the suffering of Jesus could be coming to an end. 

“I really want to retire from this because of my age, but let’s see if my body can still bear the pain next year,” he said. “When I’m laid 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.'”

Enajem started participating in the ordeal after he fell from a building and walked away unscathed, prompting him to begin participating in the crucifixions by thanks to God for what he believed was a miracle.

In a news conference on Friday shortly after the event, Enajem said he was praying for the end of the Ukraine war and eradicating the coronavirus. 

A woman penitent who is nailed to a wooden cross is bought down during a reenactment of Jesus Christ’s sufferings as part of Good Friday rituals April 7, 2023 in the village of San Pedro Cutud. Aaron Favila/ Associated Press

The harrowing tradition in the Catholic-majority country is criticized by some clergy, who believe the harrowing self-flagellation is unnecessary to show a solid devotion to the church. 

“The question is, where were we church people when they started doing this?” Robert Reyes, a prominent Catholic priest in the country, asked the AP. Reyes added that clergy spends more time in rural communities than judging the ritual.