SAN FERNANDO, Philippines – An Australian man has joined local devotees in re-enacting the suffering of Christ by having himself nailed to a cross in what has become a yearly Good Friday ritual in a town in the northern Philippines.
John Michael, a 33-year-old from Melbourne who wore a long wig and a tin crown of thorns, shouted in pain as men nailed his hands and feet to a wooden cross.
Michael and four Filipino devotees, including a woman, were nailed to crosses in a makeshift stage on a basketball court in Paombong, a town in northern Bulacan province, as thousands of spectators looked on.
Reynaldo Sulit, a town councillor, said it was the first time that a foreigner has joined the yearly rites in Paombong.
Michael could not be reached for comment, but a friend who refused to give his name, says the Australian joined in the ritual for undisclosed “personal reasons.”
The practice is frowned upon by church leaders in the Philippines, Asia’s largest predominantly Roman Catholic country.
Source: Yahoo News by Favila And Pat Roque, The Associated Press
Photo by: Reuters
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