Filipinos nail themselves to crosses on Good Friday

Catholic zealots in the Philippines nailed themselves to crosses to mark Good Friday. Tourists and locals looked on as 18 men had nails driven through their palms, and were then hoisted up onto crosses in a re-enactment of the crucifixion of Christ. The visitors watched barefoot Filipinos whip themselves then have nails driven through their hands before hanging for a few minutes on crosses.

The re-enactments of the crucifixion of Christ yesterday drew thousands of tourists to the Pampanga region, 50 miles north of the capital, and a circus atmosphere prevailed.

"It's my first time to witness a man being crucified," said Charlotte Johansen, 26, a Norwegian charity worker taking pictures with her friends.

Archbishop Paciano Aniceto said the practice, which took hold in the province 60 years ago, was a distortion of Christ's teachings but he said the church could not stop the ritual.

"We do this because of our faith, not because we're paid," said Ruben Inaje, a house painter who has been crucified for 27 years.

"Two years ago, I said it would be the last time I'd do it. But every time I say that, my wife gets sick. I guess God wants me to continue."

Alex Laranang, a 58-year-old vendor who was the first to be nailed to a cross Friday, said he was doing it "for good luck and for my family to be healthy."

It was the 27th crucifixion for sign painter Ruben Enaje, 52, one of the most popular penitents from San Pedro Cutud village. He began his yearly rite after surviving a fall from a building.

Enaje screamed in pain as men dressed as Roman soldiers hammered stainless steel nails into his palms and feet. A wireless microphone carried his voice to loudspeakers for everyone watching to hear.

His cross was raised and he was hanged there for several minutes under the searing afternoon sun before the nails were pulled out and he was taken on a stretcher to a first aid station.

"It's intriguing and fascinating what makes people do something like this, how you can believe so much that you make yourself suffer to that extent," said Dita Tittesass, a tourist from Denmark.