By Yesenia Vega
On the eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Nicaraguan community once again gathered in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, in their beloved celebration of the Immaculate Conception to which they feel double devotion, for being the patron saint of Nicaragua and the United States of America. Our Bishop Alberto Rojas presided over a solemn Eucharist and was accompanied by our Vicar General Monsignor Lopez.
A very peculiar characteristic of this community is the joy that is breathed in its atmosphere, in its shouts and praises, in its fraternal style of celebrating and sharing. This year, we had the visit of a small delegation of peasant leaders, recently stripped of their lands, their families and their nationality. Medardo Mairena and Yésica Lopez accompanied us, sharing with us a recent testimony of how the pressure of the current Nicaraguan government on the free expression of their faith is increasing. Medardo was imprisoned for a year and five months and was tortured physically and psychologically. He shared the prison with priests and other lay people, realizing the love that these shepherds have for their people. For Nicaraguan Catholics, it is painful to be left without the support of their spiritual leaders; the announced departure of the nuns worries them greatly because of the lack of care that they guarantee, especially for the elderly, the orphans, and the poorest.
It is impressive that far from being extinguished by fear, the faith of the people is strengthened. The love for the Mother of God increases, certain that she will continue at the foot of the cross of her people, certain that She, who is not contaminated by sin, will strengthen her children to fight against the sins of the world. Once again, we feel that Tertullian's expression at the beginning of the Church "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of new Christians" is fulfilled in persecuted Nicaragua.