Manila (EFE) the covid-19 pandemic.
While many Filipino Catholics celebrate Holy Week by visiting churches and watching processions, some villages stage bloody spectacles that include whipping flagellants and crucifixions, despite the Church’s rejection of these traditions.
The most famous crucifixions are those of San Pedro Cutud, a small village located in the province of Pampanga where its most famous crucified, Rubén Enaje, 63, was nailed to the cross for the thirty-fourth time.
In the last three years, the local authorities of San Fernando de Pampanga, where San Pedro Cutud is located, have canceled re-enactments on the cross due to covid-19.
Before nailing himself to the cross today, Enaje told Coconuts that he is considering stopping participating in the crucifixions due to his age since, in addition to suffering the nails, the martyrdom includes dragging a 37-kilogram cross for two kilometers.
Another of the towns that recreated the crucifixions this Good Friday is Paombong, in the province of Bulacan, where the believer Precy Valencia was raised on the cross with nails in her hands and feet.
The Catholic Church and the health authorities warn of the health risks of crucifixions, but every year this religious paroxysm is repeated at Easter, attracting thousands of devotees and tourists.
In colonial times, Spanish religious and missionaries learned the local languages to spread the gospel and make conversions, although at times the Catholic creed was mixed with local animist beliefs.
During these days, parades of images of Christ, the Virgin and other figures from the New Testament are also held in processions, called “karosas” or “andas” in Tagalog due to Spanish heritage.
Another tradition is the “church visit”, which consists of visiting seven churches, which during the three years of the pandemic was carried out virtually through a website.
With more than 90 million faithful, the Philippines is the country with the most Catholics in Asia – more than 80% of its population – and the third in the world, only behind Brazil and Mexico.
