(17 Jul 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Port-au-Prince, Haiti – 16 July 2025
1. Various of women walking to the church carrying flowers to honor Erzulie and the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel
2. SOUNDBITE (Haitian Creole) (No name given) Vodou priest:
++ PARTIALLY COVERED BY SHOT 1 ++
“I am a practicing Vodou priest, and it is important to be here anyway and celebrate our mother (the Virgin Mary) on her day and to say thank you "
3. Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel
4. Woman and other faithful praying in church
5. Various of women walking to the altar with baskets of fruit and sugarcane on their heads
STORYLINE:
Several thousand people scaled a steep hill in a rural part of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on Wednesday to honor Erzulie and the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel.
The small church replaced Saut-d’Eau after violent gangs attacked the town in March, where the 100-foot waterfall had attracted thousands of Vodou and Christian followers for decades.
The town remains under gang control, preventing thousands from participating in the traditional annual pilgrimage meant to honor the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, who is closely associated with the Vodou goddess of Erzulie.
“It is important to celebrate the mother’s (The Virgin Mary) day anyway, and I came here to thank her,” said a Vodou Priest who preferred not to give his name.
On Wednesday, videos posted on social media showed members of the Canaan gang standing in the large church of Saut-d’Eau that traditionally hosted the annual Mass amid the three-day pilgrimage.
While the small church in Port-au-Prince burst at its seams with faithful praying for the blessing of the Virgin.
During mass service, Monsignor Sander Louis Jean asked the faithful to pray for Haiti. “It is what the Virgin Mary, our mother, wants – unity,” said Monsignor Sander.
AP Video by Pierre Luxama
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