Central American bishops call for a day of prayer amid the Catholic Church’s "challenging" situation in Nicaragua

The Bishops of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama, members of the Episcopal Secretariat of Central America (Sedac), called for a day of prayer this coming Dec. 8, in honor of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

In a joint message titled “Central American Day of Prayer for the Church in Nicaragua,” the bishops expressed their support for the Nicaraguan people in the face of the persecution inflicted upon them by the communist Ortega-Murillo regime.

The prayer seeks to strengthen faith, hope, peace and freedom in a country where the Church is going through times of repression.

“On ​​the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, Nicaraguan Catholics lift their voices in a great festival of praise known as ‘la gritería,’” the bishops of Central America said in a Nov. 29 statement.

They added that, “in Nicaragua and throughout Central America, the traditional Marian devotion is expressed that is so deeply rooted in the piety of our people.”

In their text, the prelates urged Catholics to unite in prayer.

In their text, they encouraged Catholics in each jurisdiction or parish to “join in prayer this cry of faith and hope, peace and freedom, which the faithful people direct to their mother and patroness. Our thoughts are with you, Nicaraguan brothers and sisters. We fraternally join your outcry, which respectfully hopes to find an answer.”

In mid-November, Monsignor Carlos Herrera, bishop of the Diocese of Jinotega and president of the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua, was banished to Guatemala after expressing his discontent with local authorities.

The expulsion of the monsignor occurred after last Nov. 10 he described as “sacrilege” the act of playing loud music in front of the San Juan Bautista Cathedral when the Eucharist was taking place.

Monsignor Carlos Herrera joined the 245 religious who have had to leave Nicaragua since 2018 due to religious persecution promoted by the Ortega-Murillo regime.

The bishops’ statement came amid the Dec. 2 letter Pope Francis wrote to the Catholics of Nicaragua in which he encouraged them to be certain that faith and hope “work miracles.