The Nuestra Señora de Candelaria Diocesan Sanctuary in Diriomo, Granada, regretted that for the third consecutive year the image of the Virgin of Candelaria could not go out to tour the main streets of the area.
In 2021 and 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic stopped the celebrations in honor of the patron saint of Diriomo, however this year 2023, the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo prevented the Virgin from leaving her temple, due to that the presidential couple maintains that it is forbidden to carry out processions at the national level.
The Ortega regime does not give up and continues to attack the Catholic Church. The right to freedom of worship and free movement are being violated by the Nicaraguan authorities.
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“Circumstances force us not to be able to fulfill another year with the gesture of pilgrimage to this place with love and devotion, but it does not prevent us from continuing to thank the Virgin for the favors obtained through her intercession, being, above all, prudent and visiting her in her temple, which is also our house”, reads the page of Facebook of the Diocesan Shrine
Every first of February, the image of the Virgin of Candelaria went in procession from the town Church to the border line between Diriomo and Granada known as “La Raya”, where thousands of people made pilgrimages with candles in their hands and to the rhythm of marimbas. . This religious activity has been carried out for more than 180 years.
The police officers verbally informed the authorities of the Diocesan Sanctuary that the procession of the revered image is prohibited for what they classify as “a security matter.”
According to sources close to the Catholic Church, the police authorities of the municipality confirmed that the order comes from Managua as has happened in the department such as Masaya.
The regime’s refusal has been previously imposed in Managua, Matagalpa and Masaya. Processions of the Pilgrim Virgin of Fatima, Virgin of La Merced, San Miguel Arcángel and San Jerónimo, respectively, could not be held in those cities. The prohibition of these Christian activities occurs in a context of religious persecution in Nicaragua.
