Roman Catholic zealots in the Philippines were nailed to wooden crosses while others whipped their backs bloody and raw in gruesome displays of religious devotion on Good Friday.
While most people in theCatholic-majority country spend the day at Mass or with their families, some go to extreme lengths to atone for sins or seek divine intervention in rituals that are frowned on by the Church.
In San Juan village, north of Manila, hundreds of residents and tourists watched a blood-soaked re-enactment of Jesus Christ's last moments.
Dozens of men wearing crowns made from vines and with cloth over their faces walked barefoot through narrow streets, flogging themselves non-stop with bamboo whips.
Blood ran down their backs, soaking the top of their trousers and splattering spectators crowded in front of shops and houses.
Some flagellants stopped to prostrate on the ground so they could be beaten with flip-flops and pieces of wood.
When blood stopped oozing from their wounds, their skin was punctured with razor blades or a wooden mallet embedded with glass shards to make them bleed.
"I do it for my family, to make them healthy," said Daren Pascual, 31, after whipping his back in a warm-up for the main event.
"You just pray, then you cannot feel the pain."
In the final stage of the performance, three men were escorted by costumed Roman centurions to a dirt mound where two of them were tied to wooden crosses.
Wilfredo Salvador, a small and wiry former fisherman who played the role of Jesus Christ, had nails driven through his palms and feet as drones flew overhead and tourists took photos and videos with their smartphones.
After several minutes, the nails were pulled out and Salvador was lowered to the ground. He was carted off on a stretcher to the medical tent for a check-up – before going home in a tricycle taxi.
"He [God] gives me physical strength unlike others who cannot bear it," said Mr Salvador, 66, who began taking part in the crucifixion 15 years ago after suffering a mental breakdown.
"I do this by choice. I thank Him for giving me a second life."
The spectacle has been performed in villages around San Fernando city for decades, but the crucifixions were cancelled for the past three years due to Covid-19.
The health department warned participants that they risked tetanus and other infections.
"It's very clear that the crucifixion of Christ is more than enough to save humanity from sin," said Father Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines' public affairs committee.
"If you want your sins to be forgiven, go to confession."
Robert Reyes, a prominent Catholic priest and human rights activist in the country, said the bloody rites reflect the Church’s failure to fully educate many Filipinos on Christian tenets, leaving them on their own to explore personal ways of seeking divine help for all sorts of maladies.
Folk Catholicism is deeply entrenched in the local religious culture, Fr Reyes said, citing a chaotic procession each January of a black statue of Jesus Christ called the Black Nazarene, which authorities say draws more than a million devotees each year in one of Asia's largest religious festivals. Many bring towels to be wiped on the wooden statue, believing it has powers to cure ailments and ensure good health and a better life.
“The question is where were we church people when they started doing this?" Fr Reyes said., adding that the clergy should immerse itself in communities more and converse regularly with villagers. “If we judge them, we'll just alienate them.”
Good Friday around the world — in pictures
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The Good Friday procession in Bensheim, western Germany, re-enacting the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus. The tradition began among Italian immigrants in the 1980s. Getty -
A Christian holds up a cross during the Good Friday procession along Via Dolorosa in the Old City of Jerusalem. It took place amid an increase in violence in the area, after Israeli police raided Al Aqsa Mosque. EPA -
A worshipper lights a candle during the Good Friday procession at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem. EPA -
Indian Christians re-enact the crucifixion of Christ to mark Good Friday in Guwahati, in the north-eastern state of Assam. AP Photo -
Pilgrims carry crosses over the causeway to Lindisfarne - also known as Holy Island - in north-east England, on the final leg of their Good Friday pilgrimage. Getty -
A young Christian at a Good Friday re-enactment of the crucifixion of Christ in Chennai, eastern India. AFP -
A re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday in Mumbai, western India. EPA -
Worshippers touch an image of Jesus at a Good Friday procession in Dili, the capital of East Timor, which is also known as Timor Leste. EPA -
The Good Friday Walk of Witness at Tunstall Hill, Sunderland, north-east England, re-enacting the journey made by Jesus when he carried the cross. PA -
Worshippers carry a cross as they take part in the Good Friday procession in Jerusalem's Old City. Reuters -
Christians mark Good Friday outside St Joseph's Cathedral, in Prayagraj, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. AP -
Nuns attend the Good Friday procession in the Old City of Jerusalem. EPA -
East Timorese Christians during a Good Friday procession in Dili, East Timor. EPA -
The Virgin of La Esperanza de Triana is carried in a series of processions through the centre of Seville, Spain, on the night between Holy Thursday and Good Friday. EPA -
Participants in the procession of the Virgen de la Esperanza de Triana in Seville, Spain. EPA -
Roman Catholics carry a cross during the Good Friday procession at St Francis De Sales church in the Dalugama suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka. EPA -
A devotee of the 15 Mysteries Catholic Lay Missionaries sect during a ritual on Good Friday in Bulacan province, Philippines. Reuters -
Filipino Catholics in San Miguel, Bulacan province, Philippines. Reuters -
Rafael Haddad dressed as Jesus Christ at Martin Place during a Good Friday street theatre performance by Wesley Mission in Sydney, Australia. Getty Images -
A re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday at Jawi Wetan Christian church in Mojokerto, Indonesia. Reuters -
Residents of the town of Iztapalapa participate in the 180th representation of Holy Week in Mexico City, Mexico. EPA -
Traders prepare seafood at the fish market in Sydney, Australia. Fish is a traditional meal on Good Friday. EPA -
Catholic devotees at a Black Nazarene procession on the eve of Good Friday in Manila, Philippines. EPA -
A vendor unloads fish for sale on Good Friday at the Companhia de Entrepostos e Armazens Gerais de Sao Paulo market in Sao Paulo. Bloomberg
