In the first of 10 scheduled Good Friday crucifixions in villages around the city of San Fernando, about 70 kilometres (40) miles) north of Manila; eight centimetre (three-inch) spikes have been driven through both hands and feet of a 62-year-old man, then the wooden cross raised briefly for the crowds to see.
After the nails have been pulled out and the man given medical treatment.
Ritual crucifixions and self-flagellation, frowned upon by the Church, are extreme affirmations of faith performed by fanatic individuals every Easter in Asia’s Catholic outpost.
This Good Fridat hundreds of barefoot men have beaten themselves with flails and at least 10 have been on schedule to be nailed onto crosses throughout Good Friday in a blood-soaked display of religious fervour in the Philippines.
Barefoot men wearing crowns of twigs walked silently on the side of a village road in the scorching tropical heat of the northern Philippines, flogging their backs with bamboo strips tied to a length of rope.
While many of the 80 million Filipino Catholics spend Good Friday at church or with family, others go to these extreme lengths to atone for sins or seek divine intervention in a spectacle that has become a major tourist attraction.
Criticizing the practice, the Church says the faithful should spend Lent in quiet prayer and reflection.
“The crucifixion and death of Jesus are more than enough to redeem humanity from the effects of sins. They are once in a lifetime events that need not be repeated,” Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines official Father Jerome Secillano said.
