(ZENIT News / Managua, 06.13.2025).- In a rare and cautiously optimistic gesture from Nicaragua’s authoritarian regime, eight transitional deacons were ordained in the Cathedral of Managua on June 7. The ordinations, presided over by Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes during the Pentecost Vigil, mark the first such event permitted in the capital this year, breaking nearly a year-long freeze on clerical ordinations across much of the country.
Since mid-2024, priestly and diaconal ordinations have been tightly restricted by the government of Daniel Ortega, which has waged an increasingly hostile campaign against the Catholic hierarchy. The June ordinations—limited only to transitional deacons and not full priests—appear to reflect a tactical move by the regime rather than a fundamental policy shift.
Sources close to the Nicaraguan bishops see the decision as a calibrated response to the recent election of Pope Leo XIV. “Ortega is in wait-and-see mode with the new pope,” one source told «The Pillar». “There’s no real freedom yet for the Church, but there’s a pause—no more arrests or property seizures, for now. They’re watching what Leo will do.”
During his homily, Cardinal Brenes made pointed remarks about global vocations, contrasting Nicaragua’s relative abundance of seminarians with the scarcity seen elsewhere. He urged continued commitment to fostering vocations, drawing on the Gospel image of casting nets even in uncertain waters. Behind his spiritual exhortation, however, lay the shadow of political constraints.
Once known for its vibrant seminary life and steady flow of ordinations, the Archdiocese of Managua now finds itself navigating tightrope diplomacy. In previous years, it hosted two rounds of priestly ordinations annually. In 2024 alone, 25 new priests were ordained. But after the July crackdown—when three deacons in Estelí were blocked from ordination just a day before their scheduled rite—nearly all ordinations across the country came to a halt.
The sudden shift in Estelí signaled a dramatic escalation. The diocesan administrator, Fr. Frutos Valle Salmerón, then 80 years old, was detained by police and placed under house arrest. Since then, multiple dioceses have faced near-total suspension of ordination activities, except for rare exceptions like León—where Bishop René Sándigo, seen as sympathetic to the regime, was allowed to ordain priests in August 2024.
The regime’s motivation appears strategic: the control of episcopal appointments. Under Pope Francis, the Vatican resisted pressure to install bishops aligned with Ortega’s interests, resulting in a stalemate. Several dioceses now operate without official bishops—led instead by apostolic administrators, elderly ordinaries long past retirement age, or in some cases, no leadership at all.
Observers suggest Ortega hopes to leverage compliance to gain influence over episcopal nominations. “He wants allies on the episcopal bench,” said one Nicaraguan priest. “If he plays nice—lets a few ordinations happen—he’s gambling he’ll be rewarded with favorable appointments, maybe even Sándigo as Archbishop of Managua.”
Meanwhile, in dioceses like Matagalpa, where resistance to the regime has been strongest, the cost has been steep. The diocese lost its bishop, Rolando Álvarez, to imprisonment and exile after years of vocal criticism of the government. Once a beacon of vocations, Matagalpa has seen its clergy decimated, losing nearly two-thirds of its priests in just two years.
Despite this, the diocese retains approximately 70 seminarians—down from over 120 before Álvarez’s arrest. Many fled abroad to continue studies in countries like Spain or the United States. Still, parishes are left with minimal sacramental coverage. In Matagalpa, over half of its 28 parishes lack resident pastors. Rural chapels that once held Mass monthly now often go weeks or months without clergy visits.
In these gaps, lay leaders, deacons, and seminarians have stepped in to lead Liturgy of the Word services and prayer gatherings. This grassroots resilience, though inspiring, is no substitute for the sacramental life communities once knew.
The wider crackdown on the Church has extended far beyond ordinations. Since the government’s confrontation with the Church intensified in 2018, more than 250 religious leaders have been forced into exile, including four bishops. Catholic universities have been shuttered, media outlets silenced, and Church properties seized or dissolved. The government has effectively dismantled legal entities tied to religious congregations, closing avenues for ministry and social outreach.
Still, in the face of this long night of repression, the Pentecost ordinations offered a flicker of grace. The eight new deacons—products of a diocesan seminary that still holds over a hundred seminarians, as well as a Redemptoris Mater house of formation—stand as a testament to perseverance. They begin their ministry in a Church stripped of many outward privileges, but inwardly still quietly vibrant.
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