The clinic staff started preparing a week ahead of time. The emergency cart was ready stocked with extra supplies, staff was supplemented so there would be enough help if needed, back-up medical coverage was arranged for. What was all this extra preparation for? Fête Citadelle. It had started many years ago as a religious pilgrimage. People would come from all over Haiti to walk up the mountain to the Citadelle. The walk being reminiscent of Jesus’ walk up Calvary Mount. There used to be priests along the way ready to hear confessions. It was a very reflective way to prepare to celebrate the Resurrection. Those religious sentiments have been lost along the way, but the custom of visiting the Citadelle on Holy Thursday, Fête Citadelle, persists. People, particularly the young, come from all over the country. They come with their radios, their picnic lunches, their energy and enthusiasm. For one day the population of Milot swells from a few thousand to closer to 25,000.
Download the full issue here: April, 2007 – Hôpital Sacré Coeur News
