Penitent Ruben Enaje, 65, is preparing for his 38th crucifixion on Good Friday in Barangay San Pedro Cutud, San Fernando City, Pampanga.
“I have been training for the past two months to fulfill my promise to God to be nailed to the cross every Good Friday since 1986,” Enaje said in a phone interview. The crucifixion site is in Burol, a man-made elevated area about three kilometers from the city proper.
Enaje said he missed three crucifixions due to lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. He undertakes the ritual as an act of self-sacrifice after surviving a fall from a three-story building in 1985 while painting signage.
“I slipped from the bamboo and shouted ‘My God!’ while falling. I landed fully conscious and without broken bones. It was a miracle,” he recalled, adding that he vowed a year later to be nailed to the cross every Good Friday.
Four nails and a steel crown of thorns will be used during the crucifixion, witnessed by thousands of pilgrims. Enaje will carry a 16-foot, 37-kilo wooden cross for 1.7 kilometers while “centurions” whip penitents along the route. The Catholic Church continues to discourage the practice, saying Christ’s sacrifice was made only once to save humanity.
