After being under various forms of house arrest since August 2022, the bishop of Matagalpa, Nicaragua, Rolando Álvarez, was sentenced to 26 years in prison on Feb. 10, 2023, charged with being a “traitor to the homeland” by the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega. In a deal with the Vatican, Álvarez was released from prison almost a year later and exiled to Rome on Jan. 14.
Now for the first time since Alvarez was exiled and while he is still the shepherd of his flock, one priest and seven deacons were ordained in his absence by the president of the Nicaraguan Bishops’ Conference and bishop of Jinotega, Carlos Enrique Herrera, on July 20 in the Matagalpa cathedral.
According to Diocese Media-TV Merced, the television channel of the Diocese of Matagalpa, Herrera celebrated the Mass in St. Peter the Apostle Cathedral in Matagalpa, where he ordained Juan José Orozco Jarquín to the priesthood.
The prelate also ordained to the diaconate Aníbal Hernaldo Vallejos Vallejos, Byron Antonio Flores Mejía, Celestino Eliécer Martínez Martínez, Ervin Andrés Aguirre Corea, Juan Dionisio Jarquín Díaz, Roberto Clemente Manzanares González, and Saúl Antonio Martínez Obregón.
According to the Nicaraguan newspaper Mosaico, this is the first ordination since Álvarez was exiled to Rome.
The newspaper also confirmed that the Diocese of Matagalpa has lost 25 of the 60 priests it had in 2020, most of whom have been arrested or exiled by the dictatorship of Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo.
‘Propagate the kingdom of Christ throughout the earth’
In his homily, in which he did not mention Álvarez, the bishop of Jinotega highlighted that “it is always a cause of joy for us as a Church that God continues to bless us with these brothers who have freely decided to give themselves to the Lord.”
“We cannot help but feel great sadness because we must recognize that, although there are people who want to hear good things, there is a lack of those who are dedicated to announcing the good news and bearing witness,” the prelate noted.
The Catholic News Agency
