By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

SOME of the Roman Catholic faithful who followed the cross to Mount Tapochao in observance of Good Friday say they make the annual pilgrimage to Saipan’s highest peak because it makes their lives better.
Luke Laniyo, 38, a fireman from Dandan who was on Tapochao with his nine-year-old daughter Nipi, said he has been trekking to Tapochao since 2000,
He said since he started the annual pilgrimage his life has become a little bit smoother every year.
“Things become lighter or smoother after I do this,” he said.
Nipi, a first grader at Dandan Elementary School, said it was her first time to join her father on the pilgrimage, but she managed to endure the walk all the way up to the top of the mountain.
“It was fun and I enjoyed it,” she said.
Rosa Rabauliman, 50, of Chalan Laulau, who has been a Tapotchao pilgrim since she was in her early 20s, said there were times when she had visions of the Virgin Mary while praying.
She said she would sometimes see the image of the Holy Mother with Jesus dying on her lap.
“My tears would come down my face and I didn’t know what was happening to me,” she said, adding that she often spends one to two hours praying.
“I would start seeing something as I kept my eyes closed — I would see spirits,” she added.
She said every year, she follows the cross from the church where Mass is celebrated before it is brought to Tapochao’s peak.
On Friday, the cross was carried from Mount Carmel Cathedral in Chalan Kanoa.
Rabauliman said she hopped on the truck that carried the cross to Capital Hill where she then joined the other pilgrims in the hike to the mountain’s summit.
She said she usually brings an icon of the Virgin Mary with her while following the cross.
“While I do this sacrifice, I pray to God for longer life,” she said.
Devotees began walking to Mt Tapotchao as early as 3 a.m.
Many, however, noticed that the number of people who joined the pilgrimage on Friday was fewer than last year.