Adobe Stock
CV NEWS FEED // Pope Francis this week sent a pastoral letter of encouragement and solidarity to Catholics in Nicaragua, where there is heavy persecution of the Church, emphasizing Our Lady’s and Jesus’ love for them.
“For some time I have wanted to write you a pastoral letter to reiterate once again the affection I profess for the Nicaraguan people, who have always distinguished themselves by their extraordinary love for God, whom you so affectionately call Papachú [endearing local term equivalent to ‘Daddy’ to refer to God the Father],” Pope Francis began.
After expressing his own nearness to them, the Pope continued: “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.”
“The filial trust you have in Him and also your fidelity to the Church are the two great beacons that illuminate your existence,” he wrote. “Be certain that faith and hope work miracles. Let us look to the Immaculate Virgin: she is the luminous witness of this confidence.”
The Dec. 2 letter comes within the start of the novena, or prayerful nine days leading up to the solemnity celebrating the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a major traditional feast and a holiday in Nicaragua. Pope Francis wrote that the Conception of Mary is a source of great joy.
“I hope that this celebration of the Immaculate Conception, which prepares us for the opening of the Jubilee 2025, will give you the encouragement you need in times of difficulty, uncertainty and hardship,” Pope Francis wrote. “On this feast, do not forget to abandon yourself to Jesus’ arms, with the invocation Dios primero, ‘God first’, which you often repeat.”
Pope Francis also assured the faithful that he “unceasingly pray[s] to the Blessed Virgin to console and accompany you, confirming you in your faith. I want to say it forcefully, the Mother of God does not cease to intercede for you, and we do not cease to ask Jesus to keep you always in His hand.”
He lauded praying the Rosary and meditating on its mysteries daily: “Reciting the Rosary, these mysteries go through the intimacy of our heart, where the freedom of the daughters and sons of God is sheltered, which no one can take away from us.”
He concluded by sharing a prayer that he wrote for the year of Jubilee. In his final paragraph of his words to them, Pope Francis wrote: “I entrust you to the protection of the Immaculate Conception. You have chosen her as the Mother of your people. This is expressed in that simple and deeply confident cry: Mary of Nicaragua, Nicaragua of Mary. May it be so!”
The Nicaraguan government has subjected the Church in the country to extreme persecution and restriction. In early November, the country’s President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo banned priests from administering Last Rites in hospitals.
In the same month, the anti-Catholic regime expelled Bishop Carlos Enrique Herrera Gutiérrez of Jinotega, president of the Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference, exiling him to Guatemala. In January, Bishop Rolando José Alvarez of Maltagalpa was exiled to Rome after being subjected to harsh imprisonment for more than 500 days.
