A Filipino villager is nailed to a cross for the 35th time on Good Friday to pray for world peace

By JIM GOMEZ
Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition. Carpenter and painter Ruben Enaje says this year he’s praying for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea. He says he and seven other villagers have registered for the real-life crucifixions, which have become an annual spectacle in Pampanga province, north of Manila. The gruesome spectacle reflects the Philippines’ unique brand of Catholicism, which merges church traditions with folk superstitions. Church leaders in the Philippines, the largest Roman Catholic nation in Asia, have frowned on the crucifixions and self-flagellations, but the tradition has lasted for decades.