Easter 2016: Filipino penitents subject themselves to crucifixions on Good Friday

Groups of men whipped themselves bloody and carried heavy crosses on streets in Tarlac city and other parts of the Philippines on Good Friday to show their devotion to Jesus Christ. Devotees of the annual ritual crucify themselves for several minutes, before being taken down and their wounds treated.

Crucifixion in the Philippines is a devotional practice held every Good Friday to observe Holy Week. The penitents, also called 'magdarame' in Kapampangan, are willingly crucified in imitation of Jesus Christ's suffering and death.

The Catholic Church in the Philippines strongly advises against those practices, seeing them as fanatical and superstitious. The Department of Health also insists that participants should have tetanus shots and that nails used should be sterilised.