Ruben Enaje | |
---|---|
Born | 1960 or 1961 (age 62–63)[1] San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines |
Nationality | Filipino |
Occupation(s) | Carpenter, Construction worker |
Known for | Being voluntarily crucified annually on Good Friday |
Ruben Enaje is a Filipino carpenter, sign painter,[2] and former construction worker. He is noted for being crucified 34 times as of 2023.[3][4][5]
He has been crucified every year from 1986 through 2019 on Good Friday; the COVID-19 pandemic required that he skip crucifixion in the years 2020–2022.[6] He resumed his annual tradition of crucifixion in 2023, being crucified for his 34th time in San Pedro Cutud.[5]
Enaje, who was once a construction worker in the Philippines, fell down from an unfinished building in Tarlac, and unexpectedly survived.[7] After the incident, saying that it was to thank the Lord for saving him, Enaje started participating in crucifixions, of his own free will, in a ritual done on Good Friday every year.[8] Initially done only for nine years since the incident, he continued with his another set of nine years as a petition for the healing of his daughter from asthma and another nine years for the good health of his wife.[1]
Enaje was crucified for his first time in 1985.[citation needed] He had promised God that he would be crucified 27 times, which came to pass in 2013.[9] He continued thereafter as there were no replacements found. He offered his 30th crucifixion, in 2016, to the people of Belgium, who had recently suffered from a terrorist attack, and prayed for a more peaceful outcome of the 2016 Philippine general election.[10]
In 2019, Enaje re-iterated his hopes to finally find a replacement, having been crucified once a year for 33 years (the same number of years that Jesus was alive).[11] He was crucified for the 34th time in 2023,[12] resuming his participation in the crucifixion after it was halted from 2020 to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that his 34th reenactment of the crucifixion would be his last.[1]