Crowds filled the pews of Saint Mary of the Lake Catholic Church in Uptown on Sunday for a special thanksgiving mass.
Parishioners gathered dressed in blue and white to pray for hundreds of political prisoners from Nicaragua, who had recently arrived in the United States
“I have mixed emotions, I’m really glad they’re here, but I know they’ve been through a lot,” said Otoniel Soza, who is part of a large group of Nicaraguans from Indianapolis, who drove three hours to Chicago for mass. .
Nicaragua is in political turmoil due to its communist regime. In early February, regime leader Daniel Ortega unexpectedly boarded 222 political prisoners on a plane to the United States. The group arrived in Washington DC to seek political asylum.
Many are now starting new lives in Chicago and Indiana, including Lazaro Rivas Perez.
“I was in prison for years, I was tortured,” said Rivas Perez, married with three children. “To be honest, I didn’t want to leave. Leaving meant I had left my family behind. But if I didn’t get on the plane, I would still be a prisoner.”
Perez arrived in Chicago on February 11 to reunite with his brother Ulises, who fled the Central American country in 2021.
“I’m so happy,” said Ulises Rivas. “I haven’t seen him in three years. Even though my brother doesn’t have his wife and kids here, at least he can breathe freely…he’s free.”
It was a sentiment shared by other parishioners at Mass, who also welcomed the Reverend Erick Diaz to the community at Sainte-Marie-du-Lac Church. Diaz is one of 30 priests who were exiled by the Nicaraguan dictatorship, which stripped them of their citizenship rights and accused them of treason for defending the Nicaraguan people.
“Being in Chicago as a priest is truly a blessing to be here,” Diaz said. “I am Nicaraguan, I always think of my people, my country… I am lucky to be here but my heart and my mind are in Nicaragua.”
Cardinal Blase Cupich issued the following statement regarding Father Diaz and the crisis in Nicaragua:
“In solidarity with the ailing Church of Nicaragua, I offered hospitality and welcome to a courageous priest who, along with many of his brothers, stood alongside his bishop as a witness to the human rights of their people. The Church of Chicago is blessed to We call for an immediate end to the systemic persecution of the Church in Nicaragua through false accusations, the closure of Catholic radio stations, the blocking of access to churches and other serious acts that violate religious freedom and social order.”
NBC Chicago
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