Religious processions organized by Nicaragua’s Catholic Church to mark Good Friday were once again restricted by the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.
Lawyer Martha Patricia Molina, who investigates religious repression in Nicaragua, said on social media that she documented the prohibition of 818 processions this Good Friday, which this year fell on April 3.
According to Molina, the banned processions had been scheduled to take place in 409 parishes across the country.
On Good Friday, Catholic churches typically hold Penitential Way of the Cross processions in honor of the Blood of Christ, as well as Holy Burial processions.
Molina noted that her tally does not include bans imposed on “quasi-parishes or chapels” in municipalities nationwide.
Metropolitan Cathedral holds indoor Way of the Cross
The prohibition of processions outside church buildings or grounds in the capital has now been evident for a fourth consecutive year.
The Archdiocese of Managua held the Penitential Way of the Cross of the Blood of Christ within the perimeter of the Metropolitan Cathedral. The last time the Archdiocese carried out this procession outside the cathedral was in 2022, when it began at the Hilton Hotel and proceeded to the cathedral.
Although Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes has presided over most Holy Week activities of the Archdiocese, he has remained silent on the ban on street processions. While neither confirming nor denying the restrictions, he has continued to keep Holy Week processions within the cathedral grounds.
