Lenten Campaign 2025
This content is free of charge, as are all our articles.
Support us with a donation that is tax-deductible and enable us to continue to reach millions of readers.
As Catholics around the world marked Holy Week with solemn processions and prayer, believers in Nicaragua gathered under a far different atmosphere — one of fear, surveillance, and government-imposed silence.
On Palm Sunday, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes of Managua stood before his flock in the city’s cathedral, with police and paramilitaries stationed just outside. The faithful were not allowed to leave church grounds, and public processions remained banned for the third consecutive year.
Despite the pressure, Cardinal Brenes preached not defiance, but mercy. “Forgiveness is part of the Lord’s passion,” he said. “God loves us and loves us intensely. As Pope Francis tells us, God forgives everything and forgives us all.”
His message of hope stood in sharp contrast to the heavy-handed repression under the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, who have labeled Catholic leaders “terrorists” and driven hundreds of clergy and religious into exile.
As noted by David Agren of OSV News, priests in Nicaragua now operate under extreme restrictions. They’re monitored by both official police and citizen informants, known locally as “citizen power councils.” Homilies are vetted. Political topics are banned. Even colors — like the blue and white of the Nicaraguan flag — are forbidden in church decorations.
“They’ve managed to infiltrate parishes and pastoral staff,” Denis Alaniz, a journalist with Panorama Católica, told OSV News. “Some priests are not preaching at all to avoid being kidnapped.”
In the Diocese of Matagalpa, where Bishop Rolando Álvarez was imprisoned before being forced into exile, priests often skip their homilies altogether. “Their work consists of surviving and staying quiet,” Alaniz said. “At least the administration of the sacraments continues.”
The Church has always been a moral voice in Nicaragua — as is now one of the last independent institutions after the regime closed news outlets, outlawed nonprofits, and silenced business leaders. Since the 2018 protests, which began on Good Friday that year, the regime has treated the Church as an opponent for sheltering demonstrators and advocating for political prisoners and human rights.
According to Agren, more than 226 bishops, priests, and religious have either been expelled or barred from returning to Nicaragua. Fourteen religious orders have had to leave, and over 70 Catholic-run institutions — including Caritas chapters and Catholic universities — have been shuttered.
Religious speech is now effectively criminalized. A report from Church Solidarity Worldwide noted that simply preaching on justice, unity, or the fate of political prisoners could be construed as government criticism.
Auxiliary Bishop Silvio José Báez, now living in exile in Miami, wrote during Holy Week: “The dictatorship has banned street processions. What they will not be able to prevent is the Crucified One from revealing his victory … in every act of solidarity for the victims.”
Arturo McFields, a former Nicaraguan diplomat, told OSV News: “Despite the expulsions, the burning of temples, the censorship of Holy Week … people’s faith remains intact, and that scares them.”
