'Kristo' in Pampanga to retire from crucifixions after 30 years
Penitent Ruben Enaje portrays Jesus Christ as he joins actors in a senakulo or passion play in San Pedro Cutud, Pampanga early yesterday. Enaje, a carpenter, has been crucified every year since 1985 on Good Friday. Michael Varcas
MANILA, Philippines — Billboard maker and devout Catholic Ruben Enaje will be crucified one last time this Holy Week after participating in Pampanga's traditional "Maleldo" for over three decades.
The 62-year-old has been reenacting the Passion of Christ every Good Friday since 1986 as part of a "vow sacrifice" — this includes carrying a 37-kilogram cross for two kilometers, getting whipped, and finally crucified.
Enaje's first nine years participating in the tradition were as a thanksgiving vow after surviving a fall from a building. The second nine years served as a petition for his daughter’s asthma to heal, and a third set of nine years was for the health of his wife.
The "Via Crusis" or The Way of the Cross tradition has been staged in Pampanga since 1955 — though the crucifixion began seven years later — but came to a halt in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, marking this edition as a return and a farewell for Enaje.
"I am dedicating my Lenten sacrifice to everyone affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We lost a lot of lives and a great number wept and suffered," Enaje said in a statement as provided by Pampanga's public information office.
Enaje also said that he hopes whoever would succeed him in the role he portrayed for 34 years will serve as a good example to the Christian community.
Holy Week this 2023 will be observed from April 2 (Palm Sunday) to 8 (Black Saturday), with Easter Sunday on April 9.
