More than a thousand faithful Catholics celebrated this Sunday, July 9, a procession in honor of the image of the Blood of Christ in the gardens of the Managua cathedral, given the government ban on carrying out processions in the streets.
The faithful accompanied a platform that was adorned with white flowers and where the charred face of the image was placed, which broke away from the Wooden Christ that burned in a fire on July 31, 2020.
Related news: Collection begins to rebuild the Chapel of the Blood of Christ in Managua Cathedral
“This year due to particular circumstances, the Lord will not go out to walk the streets of his faithful Managua,” said the priest Said Ruiz prior to a mass celebrated by Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes.
“Long live the Blood of Christ,” the Catholic faithful shouted as they carried out the procession in the gardens of the cathedral, which was accompanied by a band of musicians, while firecrackers exploded in the sky for the celebration.
The image of the Blood of Christ carved in wood was burned in a chapel inside the Managua cathedral in an act that the Church described as an attack, while the police assured that it was an involuntary fire caused by a candle.
After the fire, the face that symbolizes Jesus Christ in the image was rescued, which was brought from Guatemala on July 4, 1638.
President Daniel Ortega explained last April that Catholic Holy Week celebrations had been restricted to church grounds to avoid “provocations.”
About five years ago, protests broke out that lasted for at least three months in different areas of Nicaragua with roadblocks, as well as clashes between opposition and pro-government protesters that left more than 300 dead, according to the UN.
