The Discalced Carmelites of Managua, Nicaragua, have expressed their hope to return to their parish in the future to continue their pastoral mission.
Newsroom (01/24/2025, 3:42 PM, Gaudium Press) After more than 50 years of pastoral work in Nicaragua, the Discalced Carmelite friars have been forced to end their mission in the country. This decision comes in the context of increasing pressure and persecution of the Catholic Church by Daniel Ortega’s regime.
“If God allows it, when we have more vocations, we will return. We remain in ecclesial communion with our fraternal prayer and entrust the Parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the entire Church in Nicaragua to the Immaculate Conception of Mary,” stated the Carmelites in a communiqué dated January 23, 2025.
The Carmelites invited parishioners to join Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes at Mass on Sunday, January 26, at 5:00 PM, when the new parish priest, Yedris Calero, will be installed.
In their statement, the friars thanked Cardinal Brenes, the clergy, and the Archdiocese of Managua for their support during their years of service in the country. They also expressed gratitude to “all the friars who lived and served at El Carmen Parish, offering our prayer of thanksgiving to God for the gift of walking the path of faith with so many parishioners, celebrating the joy of Marian devotion, and deepening the Eucharistic faith experience.”
“Through the charism that God gave to Saint Teresa of Jesus, we have provided our pastoral service by fostering prayer and the spirituality of Jesus,” the statement concluded.
Persecution and Expulsion
Lawyer Martha Patricia Molina, who documents abuses against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, stated that the Carmelites “have been completely expelled from Nicaragua” and are “forced to hand over their mission to the Archdiocese of Managua.”
“The most affected, logically, will be the laity,” Molina observed. Her report, Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church, documents 971 attacks against clergy and at least 19 confiscated Church properties between 2018 and 2024.
Compiled by Gustavo Kralj
Related Images:
