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Filipino Catholics have nailed themselves on crosses and carried out gruesome acts of self-inflicted pain to mark Holy Week.
A Philippine man who has been nailed to a cross every Easter for the past 32 years in a Good Friday re-enactment of Jesus Christ's crucifixion says he no longer feels any pain from his wounds.
Ruben Enaje, 58, again portrayed Christ on Friday in the traditional religious rite in Cutud village, about 76 km (47 miles) from the capital Manila.
"In the past, I went home injured and limping, but this year I feel so great," Ruben said after the ritual held under a sweltering sun.
He said he believed his strong Catholic faith helped him avoid pain.
"I feel like he is telling me 'go ahead, keep it up'," he said, referring to God.
Easter is a festival marking the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. About 80 percent of the 105 million people in the Philippines, a former Spanish colony, are Catholic.
Ruben said he felt strong enough to perform in two or three more crucifixions, until he turns 60.
He was among three devotees nailed to wooden crosses in the village on Friday, including a woman taking part for the seventh time.
Actors wearing Roman soldier costumes attached the devotees to crosses by hammering two-inch nails soaked in alcohol through their hands and feet and hoisted them up in a field packed with domestic and foreign tourists.
The Catholic Church in the Philippines tolerates the ritual but says it does not support such gory displays of devotion, describing them as a "misinterpretation of faith".
Many Catholics in the Philippines perform religious acts of penance during the Holy Week at Easter as a form of worship and supplication.
Some believe penance cleanses sins, cures illnesses and even leads to wishes coming true.
Filipino Catholics marched the streets whipping themselves and lacerating their backs with razorblades in a bloody Easter ritual to atone for their sins in the otherwise peaceful town of Pakil, in Laguna province.
Masked religious devotees performed the acts of self-inflicted pain to mark the Holy Week.
The shocking scenes of self-flagellation are traditional in small towns of the primarily Catholic nation before Easter as a form of worship believed to cleanse sins, cure illness and grant wishes.
Despite condemnation from the Catholic Church, the group drew large crowds including children to line the sweltering streets and behold the extreme show of faith.
