Thousands of people, including local and foreign tourists, flocked to a century-old Catholic chapel in Barangay Kapitangan, Paombong, Bulacan, to observe the Holy Week rites and to witness faith healers being nailed to wooden crosses.
Despite the blazing summer heat, thousands of devotees and visitors patiently waited for the start of the faith healers' re-enactment of Christ's passion and death with actual nailing on the wooden cross at the man-made Golgotha beside the Catholic Chapel in the village on Good Friday, April 18.
They also witnessed the bloody Holy Week practice of hundreds of flagellants whipping their bare backs with thorny objects.
At exactly 11:30 a.m., the crucifixion began, wherein a man and a woman were nailed to a wooden cross. Native actors playing the roles of Roman centurions pulled out the nails from their hands and feet while the faith healers remained nailed to the cross for two minutes.
Before thousands of people, the faith healers were first dragged and whipped by native centurions, then raised onto wooden crosses where stainless steel nails were driven into their outstretched hands and feet.
The faith healers shared that after fulfilling their Lenten vow, they always confess to a Catholic priest. They admitted that the Church does not approve of the bloody reenactment of Christ’s Passion, but they explained to the priest that they also have a mission they need to fulfill.
They said the man-made Golgotha in the village has become a “graduate school” for faith healers, as many of those who were crucified later became effective healers and built their own chapels where they treat the sick for free.
Fulfilled faith healers
In a short interview with elders in the village, they mentioned some "fulfilled faith healers” that included Amparo Santos, popularly known as “Mother Paring” of Guiguinto, Bulacan.
They said Mother Paring had fulfilled her Lenten vow by getting herself nailed to the cross every Good Friday for 15 consecutive years before she retired 15 years ago.
"She now conducts spiritual healing sessions at St. Joseph Chapel in Brgy. Tabe, Guiguinto," they said.
They also mentioned Timoteo "Tammy" Mondragon of Bagong Silang, Caloocan City; “Ka Precy,” who was nailed for the seventh consecutive time; Buboy Dionisio, who was crucified from 1997 to 2013; and a woman known only as “Lucy,” who fulfilled her Lenten vow by getting crucified for 15 straight years.
They also shared that as early as 4 a.m. every Maundy Thursday until dawn on Good Friday, devotees continue to arrive to get the miraculous perfumed oil of the Mahal na Poong Sto. Cristo. They said the faithful devotees wanted to participate in the old Lenten tradition of the venerated crucifix, the patron saint of the village, which is bathed in oil and perfume.
The image of the Crucified Christ is taken down from the chapel's main altar and bathed in oil and perfume. The perfumed oil is collected and given to those who believe that it has healing powers. The ritual ends when the image is cleaned and returned to the altar.
Every year during Holy Week, people visit Barangay Kapitangan to witness a unique tradition. Despite the solemn atmosphere, the deep faith of the devotees stands out, especially in their acts of penance and passion plays that include actual crucifixion.
It is known for its intense Holy Week observance, a tradition said to have begun in the 1940s and is still being strongly practiced by locals today.
Meanwhile, large crowds of devotees also visited other popular Holy Week sites such as the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Marilao, Padre Pio Mountain Healing and the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto Shrine in San Jose Del Monte, the Banal na Bundok in San Miguel, and the traditional Senakulo plays in the cities of Malolos and Baliuag.