The Missionaries of Charity who were expelled from Nicaragua by the regime of Daniel Ortega, on July 6, are evaluating the possibility of installing their religious mission in the canton of Cañas, in the province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. For what they are in “advanced negotiations” with Monsignor Manuel Eugenio Salazar Mora, Bishop of the Diocese of Tilarán – Liberia.
“When the nuns were expelled from Nicaragua, they lost all their property and we received them at the border. So, I proposed to them to create a foundation, in Cañas, an issue that resonated with them. After negotiations, we have already discussed the project, but we have not yet signed the respective contract. Let us pray for it to materialize”, explained Monsignor Salazar Mora in a press release.
The Catholic hierarch also specified that the superior general of the congregation must review and endorse the project and then continue with other legal procedures to make everything firm.
This Tuesday, July 26, a delegation of five nuns toured the Pbro Catechesis Center. Armando Hernández, in Kennedy neighborhood, in Cañas, in order to value that place, as his mission house. The missionaries were accompanied by Monsignor Salazar Mora; the coordinator of the diocesan Social Ministry, Deacon Francisco Venegas; and the parish priest of Cañas center, Fr. Harvey Flores.
According to information from the Diocese of Tilarán-Liberia, the bishop proposed that the missionaries provide service in Cañas, a populous canton with a good number of homeless people and families with great needs; which motivated a first visit by the nuns, the same day they were expelled from Nicaragua.
Now, on their second tour, “the sisters met their possible headquarters in order to evaluate a series of improvement works, in the infrastructure, which they plan to carry out with the support of benefactors,” reads the diocese’s statement.
“We are happy to locate our convent here, in Cañas; we are going to carry out our mission of visiting poor families; help Father Harvey Flores —parish priest in Cañas center— with the sacraments; teaching children catechism, also visiting the elderly and bringing them communion for a spiritual life; Later, we will see if we can help the homeless with food and their spiritual part,” said Mother Agnecita, in charge of the 13 houses of the missionaries, distributed throughout Central America.
Finally, the diocese made available to citizens the account of the Missionaries of Charity Association of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, IBAN CR65 0152 0100 1029 8672 83, for those who wish to support the nuns.
The mission in Nicaragua
before being expelled from Nicaragua, the missionaries cared for two religious communities in Managua and one in Granada.
In Managua, the religious congregation ran a home for the elderly, a nursery and a dining room for the most disadvantaged. They also assisted 135 families with a monthly basic basket, spiritual accompaniment and catechesis. Helping neighboring parishes.
In Granada, the religious congregation cared for young people and children with limited economic resources, providing them with a space for other children in need of school reinforcement. In addition, they had a soup kitchen for the most needy and —as in Managua— they delivered basic food baskets to poor families.
The religious congregation also delivered medicines to the most needy, provided economic support to university students with limited economic resources and visited those deprived of liberty.
The Missionaries of Charity, an order founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, were forced to leave Nicaragua after the National Assembly, controlled by Ortega, canceled the legal status of their religious association.
