Monsignor Rolando Álvarez held his first Mass after communist dictator Daniel Ortega banished him from Nicaragua. The bishop of the diocese of Matagalpa celebrated the Mass in Spain. The Bishop was imprisoned in August 2022 alongside other members of his diocese at the end of a two-week raid on his parish by Nicaraguan officers.
The service was held on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Matagalpa diocese. Álvarez served as the bishop since 20011 and was the ninth bishop in the area. He offered prayers for his countrymen amid Ortega’s relentless persecution campaign of Catholicism in the Central American nation. Ortega’s goons sentenced the Bishop to 26 years in prison on “treason” charges and stripped him of his Nicaraguan nationality.
Bishop Alvarez said, “In honor of Our Lady of Sorrows, in memory of Our Lady of Hope, and on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the canonical foundation of my blessed and beloved Diocese of Matagalpa, we pray for our beloved Nicaragua.” The Bishop was imprisoned for over 500 days until the dictator exiled him to the Vatican early this year. Since being banished, he has kept a low profile.
During the Mass, Bishop Álvarez read a letter from Pope Francis to the Nicaraguan faithful. “Do not forget the loving Providence of the Lord, who accompanies us and is the only sure guide. Precisely in the most difficult moments, when it becomes humanly impossible to understand what God wants from us, we are called not to doubt His care and mercy.”
He concluded, “The filial trust you have in Him and also your fidelity to the Church are the two great beacons that illuminate your existence.” Bishop Álvarez offered his own thoughts as well, “I would like that all my faithful of Matagalpa, of the countryside and the city, could contemplate it telling them that from La Puebla de los Infantes, I am praying for them.”
He also offered his pectoral cross to Our Lady of Sorrows as a sign of thanksgiving for the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Matagalpa diocese. “And I am making this gesture of love for them, for the Lord, for the Church, for the Blessed Virgin. I hope that the Brotherhood of Our Lady keeps this pectoral in her hands” he said.
In his absence, the Matagalpa Diocese celebrated its 100th anniversary without its bishop. The Ortega regime oppresses Christians and catholic churches are under constant surveillance. The dictator demands that all religious activities in the nation must be approved by his police force. Numerous Catholic processions and festivities have been banned.
Dictator Daniel Ortega declared “war” against Christians in Nicaragua. The communist leader has overseen a campaign of relentless persecution. The repression has dramatically worsened since 2022. Ortega has imprisoned and tortured religious figures. Two other bishops have been banished as well. Monsignor Isidoro del Carmen Mora, Bishop of Siuna, was banished in January. Monsignor Carlos Herrera, an Episcopal Leader, was deported to Guatemala as punishment for slamming local authorities who disrupted a service with loud music.