Man injured after falling from CROSS during Good Friday re-enactment (2025)

An elderly man was injured after falling 10 feet off a wooden cross at a Good Friday reenactment in West Virginia.

The unidentified man, 84, was airlifted to the hospital after falling off Jesus' cross at the Masonic Cemetery in Weston, located 100 miles North of the capital, Charleston, according to WDTV.

The incident occurred around 12:30pm and he was not a member of the church, the outlet reported.

A family member told WDTV that the man is currently in the ICU with broken ribs, but is now in stable condition.

As for how the man fell off the cross, it is currently unclear.

It was the church's 20th annual Good Friday celebration. Each year, three men dressed in white cloths climb up onto the tiny platforms on the crosses to reenact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

'There are people who are on the crosses who represent Jesus and the two thieves,' Beth Barnes, a longtime member of the church, told WV News.

'Some people don’t know what Good Friday is about — our Lord Jesus Christ dying for our sins. Being on the cross, being tortured terribly, and then dying, all for our salvation,' she continued.

'My favorite part every year is watching the guys up on the cross. It’s really touching seeing them volunteer to help teach other.'

Barnes made no mention of the man falling.

In another Easter weekend tragedy, Pope Francis died at the age of 88on Easter Monday.

The Pontiff spent his final hours with the faithful, emerging to bless thousands of people in St. Peter's Square on Sunday and touring the piazza in the Popemobile to wild cheers and applause after being discharged from hospital only last month.

Francis had briefly met with US Vice President JD Vance for a 'quick and private' meeting at the Casa Santa Marta residence in Vatican City earlier on Sunday.

He was hoped to be making a steady recovery from double pneumonia before Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, the Vatican camerlengo, announced that he had died at 7.35am local time yesterday.

'With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite, merciful love of God, One and Tribune,' he said in a statement.

Francis had only left the hospital under 'protected discharge' on March 23 after suffering an infection that developed into pneumonia in both lungs earlier this year.

The Vatican has released photos of Pope Francis being laid out in his open coffin for the Confirmation of the Death of the Pontiff ceremony.

The ceremony, which took place last night and lasted just under an hour, saw Cardinal Farrell read the official declaration of death aloud.

Francis' body was also placed in an open wooden casket in the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel. Two Swiss Guards stood at attention as Farrell blessed Francis with holy water.

West Virginia

Add your comment