In apparent gesture to Pope Leo, Nicaragua allows diaconal ordinations

The government had largely suspended ordinations in Nicaragua since last summer​

Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes was permitted to ordain eight transitional deacons in Managua on June 7, in an apparent gesture of goodwill by the Nicaraguan regime following the election of Pope Leo XIV.

The government had largely suspended ordinations in Nicaragua since the summer of 2024. While the Archdiocese of Managua used to ordain priests twice a year, this is the first group of ordinations in 2025, and it is solely composed of transitional deacons.

Brenes ordained eight seminarians as deacons during the Pentecost Vigil in the Managua cathedral.

In his homily, Brenes talked about his experience in the recent conclave and said that “it’s sad, in other sister churches, especially outside of Latin America… to listen to brother bishops with vocational crises, that have had many years without an ordination, or that just ordained one priest after 10 or 15 years.”

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