The story
Mount Tapochao Good Friday Pilgrimage in Mount Tapochao
The Mount Tapochao Good Friday Pilgrimage is a decades-old religious tradition on Saipan in which hundreds of residents climb before dawn to the summit of Mount Tapochao, the island's highest point, to witness a wooden cross raised at the peak in an annual act of prayer, reflection and community. Led by clergy from Mount Carmel Cathedral, the tradition has continued for roughly thirty years.
Before dawn on Good Friday each year, hundreds of residents on Saipan set out on foot for the summit of Mount Tapochao, the island's highest peak, continuing a tradition of prayer, reflection and community that has now run for roughly three decades.