Devotees nailed to crosses in Easter ritual

AT least 11 Filipino devotees were nailed to the cross during Good Friday reenactments of Christ's final hours.

The Lenten ritual, opposed by religious leaders in the Philippines, is an annual tradition in this farming village about 45 miles north of the capital, Manila.

The Roman Catholic devotees were crucified in batches, their palms and feet attached to wooden crosses with four-inch nails soaked in alcohol to prevent infection.

Nine devotees underwent the ritual in San Pedro Cutud, including Ruben Enaje, a 45-year-old sign maker who was nailed to the cross for the 20th time.

Enaje has said it is his way of thanking God after he miraculously survived a fall from a building when he was a construction worker.

In Kapitangan, another village north of Manila, two men wearing long wigs and tin crowns were nailed to the cross before about 1,000 spectators.

In Jerusalem, thousands of Christian pilgrims filled the narrow streets of the Old City, retracing the route that Jesus followed on the way to his crucifixion.

The pilgrims packed the Via Dolorosa, the winding path through Jerusalem's walled Old City where tradition says Jesus walked as he carried his cross.

The processions all ended at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which marks the site of the crucifixion.

Along the way, worshippers from India, the Philippines, Germany, Spain, Indonesia, France, Switzerland, Italy, and many other countries paused to pray and sing at each of the 14 stations of the cross. The stations recall the various events of Christ's crucifixion, from his condemnation to death to the placing of his body in the tomb.

Some of the pilgrims knelt to worship in the streets.

Israeli Arab Christians were among the largest groups forming processions along the route.

A group of Californians who re-enact Jesus' final walk in costume every year began their procession around midday. A man portraying a blood-soaked Jesus wearing a crown of thorns was followed by Roman soldiers, dressed in red and gold, as he carried a large wooden cross to the Holy Sepulcher. He did not enter, though, since dressing as Jesus is considered blasphemous by sects within the church.

Hans de Mol, a Roman Catholic from the Netherlands, was on his third Good Friday pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

"This year, the atmosphere in Jerusalem is the most relaxed it's ever been," he said. "Three years ago, there was more military presence. This year, there's much less tension."