Parishioners attend a Mass offered by Nicaraguan Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes (out of frame) at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua, Nicaragua, on Feb. 12. Cardinal Brenes asked for prayers for Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who was sentenced to 26 years in prison on Feb. 10 after refusing to go to the United States with released opponents who were expelled from the country.
Parishioners attend a Mass offered by Nicaraguan Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes (out of frame) at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua, Nicaragua, on Feb. 12. Cardinal Brenes asked for prayers for Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who was sentenced to 26 years in prison on Feb. 10 after refusing to go to the United States with released opponents who were expelled from the country. (photo: Oswald Rivas / AFP via Getty Images)

Nicaragua: Faith During Persecution (Feb. 18)

Eight Nicaraguan priests who were expelled from their country by the Ortega regime celebrated Mass for first time in six months last weekend at a small chapel in Washington, DC. The Register’s senior editor, Joan Frawley Desmond, who has covered this story of faith in the face of persecution, joins us on Register Radio along with Register columnist Andrea Picciotti Bayer, who covers religious liberty issue worldwide.

The Vatican flag and the dome of St. Peter's Basilica.

The Last Diplomat From the Vatican Leaves Nicaragua

Msgr. Diouf was the last Vatican official in Nicaragua and assumed the role of business manager after the government of Daniel Ortega expelled the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, in March 2022.