{"id":97324,"date":"2026-07-26T07:23:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T07:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/?p=97324"},"modified":"2026-07-26T07:23:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T07:23:40","slug":"priest-who-fled-nicaragua-prays-daily-for-god-to-free-country-from-cruel-regime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/learn\/priest-who-fled-nicaragua-prays-daily-for-god-to-free-country-from-cruel-regime\/","title":{"rendered":"Priest who fled Nicaragua prays daily for God to free country from \u2018cruel regime\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

With his hope placed in Jesus Christ and a longing to see his homeland free one day, a Nicaraguan priest carries out his ministry in Costa Rica, the country to which he came after being forced to flee due to the Nicaraguan government\u2019s persecution against the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2018s been 30 months since I had to flee,\u201d the priest told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. He asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals against his family living in Nicaragua.<\/p>\n

Although he currently carries out his ministry in a Costa Rican parish, he acknowledges that each day is tinged with nostalgia for the land he left behind.<\/p>\n

He fled early one morning in 2024 after the authorities had issued an arrest warrant for him. He left Nicaragua without even being able to say goodbye to his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI left Nicaragua without seeing my mother, without telling her: \u2018Mom, I\u2019m leaving.\u2019 I couldn\u2019t say goodbye to anyone; that hurts,\u201d he said sadly.<\/p>\n

The persecution began in 2018<\/h2>\n

The \u201charassment\u201d against him, as he himself describes it, began in 2018 when street protests against President Daniel Ortega\u2019s government erupted. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the crackdown left hundreds dead and injured.<\/a><\/p>\n

At that time, he was providing pastoral support to youth groups, which led to his involvement. \u201cI supported the young people in the sense of praying for them and, secondly, by looking for food and medicine for university students and the general population whenever they were mistreated, subjected to violence, or beaten.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also began preaching about human dignity and social justice during his Masses. He sought \u201cto call for respect and for the freedom of a people crying out for justice and demanding their rights to be valued.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThat bothered the government; it made them angry,\u201d he lamented.<\/p>\n

\n \"A
A young woman holds aloft a Nicaraguan flag near a barricade against police during the protests of April 20, 2018, in Nicaragua. | Credit: Voice of America\/Public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the months went by, he began receiving calls and messages on his personal number. He also stated: \u201cArmed military personnel would arrive and enter the church to record the homilies; in short, I felt constantly watched.\u201d<\/p>\n

The priest recounted that in late 2023 he was forced to leave his community and go into hiding. \u201cI spent New Year\u2019s on the run, in hiding.\u201d Finally, in January 2024, an arrest warrant was issued for him, and he decided to flee to Costa Rica.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to leave almost at midnight, trying to save my life. I practically had to flee for no reason at all because I hadn\u2019t committed any crime,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

His case is not an isolated one. He is among the multitude of the faithful suffering the systematic persecution that the Ortega dictatorship has waged against the Catholic Church. Since 2018, more than 1,030 attacks against Catholics have been documented<\/a>, and over a hundred priests and four bishops have been expelled or forced into exile.<\/p>\n

New opportunities in Costa Rica<\/h2>\n

\u201cThe tears were flowing,\u201d the priest recalled, thinking back to the moment he crossed the border and left his country behind. More than two years after that event, he said that \u201cto this day, I feel a longing for the people I love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the pain, he said he has found a new opportunity in Costa Rica, thanks to the support received from the country\u2019s bishops and various priests, who \u201chave given me shelter and stability.<\/p>\n

That support enabled him to rebuild his life and resume his priestly ministry. Convinced that God does not abandon those who suffer, he affirmed: \u201cJesus is with me, and Most Holy Mary, my beautiful, beloved Mother, does not forsake me.\u201d <\/p>\n

He said he asks God every day to \u201cfree Nicaragua from that cruel, indolent, murderous regime.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI ask for justice, I ask for peace, I ask the Lord to grant me the grace to return to my beautiful land, to be able to see my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Migrant priests: A gift for the Church in Costa Rica<\/h2>\n

Currently, there are around 25 Nicaraguan priests living in Costa Rica, Father Gustavo Meneses, executive secretary of the National Human Mobility Commission of the Costa Rican Bishops\u2019 Conference, told ACI Prensa.<\/p>\n

Far from considering them a burden, Meneses maintains that they represent \u201ca gift from God among us,\u201d as they have come to \u201cmeet needs within our dioceses,\u201d especially those with fewer priests.<\/p>\n

Recently, a private meeting was held<\/a> that, Meneses explained, was \u201can opportunity for them to meet, to get to know each other. Because they themselves are beginning to realize who\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The priest indicated that many shared the pain of having left their families, \u201cbut, above all, it hurts them to have abandoned their pastoral mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

He thus considers that one of the challenges for the Catholic Church in Costa Rica is to offer them the human and psychological support that enables them to heal from the effects of exile.<\/p>\n

He also called on the authorities to expedite international protection processes and prevent those fleeing persecution from remaining for long periods in a \u201clegal limbo\u201d that exposes them to deportation.<\/p>\n

Esta historia fue publicada originalmente <\/a>por ACI Prensa, el servicio hermano en espa\u00f1ol de EWTN News. Ha sido traducido y adaptado por EWTN News English.<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.ewtnnews.com\/world\/americas\/priest-fled-nicaragua-and-prays-daily-for-god-to-free-the-country-from-that-cruel-regime<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With his hope placed in Jesus Christ and a longing to see his homeland free one day, a Nicaraguan priest carries out his ministry in Costa Rica, the country to which he came after being forced to flee due to the Nicaraguan government\u2019s persecution against the Catholic Church. \u201cIt\u2018s been 30 months since I had […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":100153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[100],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-97324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-news"],"mb":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Priest-who-fled-Nicaragua-prays-daily-for-God-to-free-country-from-%E2%80%98cruel-regime.jpg?fit=1600%2C1200&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":99742,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/learn\/historic-moment-maronite-church-prepares-for-patriarch-hoyeks-beatification\/","url_meta":{"origin":97324,"position":0},"title":"\u2018Historic moment\u2019: Maronite Church prepares for Patriarch Hoyek\u2019s beatification","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"julio 26, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Maronite Church is entering a week of prayer, celebration, and preparation ahead of the beatification of Patriarch Elias Hoyek, a defining figure in both Maronite and Lebanese history.Celebrations will include the screening of the film \u201cPatriarch Elias, God Provides,\u201d a solemn beatification Mass on Saturday in Diman, the transfer\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abChristian News\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Christian News","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/learn\/category\/christian-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":96805,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/learn\/pope-leo-xiv-urges-peace-and-nuclear-disarmament-in-new-book-foreword\/","url_meta":{"origin":97324,"position":1},"title":"Pope Leo XIV urges peace and nuclear disarmament in new book foreword","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"julio 23, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Pope Leo XIV has written a foreword to a new book, calling for peace and the elimination of nuclear weapons.Originally published by Vatican News, the pontiff\u2019s text is part of the new book \u201cDisarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift,\u201d published by the Vatican Publishing House (Libreria Editrice Vaticana) in\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abChristian News\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Christian News","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/learn\/category\/christian-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":99732,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/learn\/from-crumbling-convent-to-catholic-art-studio-a-new-light-in-atlantic-city-new-jersey\/","url_meta":{"origin":97324,"position":2},"title":"From crumbling convent to Catholic art studio: A new light in Atlantic City, New Jersey","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"julio 25, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A Catholic art studio is beginning to blossom in an unexpected place. 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