Who will succeed Nicaragua’s Cardinal Brenes - and when?
Whether to accept the 75-year-old cardinal's resignation may not be a simple decision for Pope Francis.
Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, the Archbishop of Managua, Nicaragua, marked his 75th birthday Thursday with an almost two-hour interview.
Brenes, who has led Nicaragua’s sole archdiocese since 2005, looked at ease during the wide-ranging conversation, despite the intense pressure exerted on the Church in recent years by the country’s dictatorial President Daniel Ortega.
In the interview, Brenes — a distinctive figure with bushy white hair beneath his scarlet zucchetto — confirmed that he had submitted his resignation to Pope Francis, as requested in canon law.
He noted that his resignation letter had presented no conditions for his departure, “because it seems to me that it would be bad manners to put terms to the pope.”
But whether to accept the resignation may not be a simple decision for Pope Francis.
Blue jeans, red hat
One point that the pope might consider as he weighs his response is that Brenes has received mixed reviews for his reaction to the Ortega regime’s persecution of the Church.
The cardinal’s lone auxiliary, Bishop Silvio Báez, was driven into exile in 2019, leaving Brenes to guide an archdiocese serving more than two million Catholics.
In January this year, Bishop Rolando Álvarez was released from a grueling imprisonment and also sent into exile. His departure further weakened the Nicaraguan hierarchy as he is not only the Bishop of Matagalpa but also the apostolic administrator of Estelí.
The current state of the country’s dioceses is rather precarious:
The Archdiocese of Managua is led by the 75-year-old Cardinal Brenes, who is also vice president of Nicaragua’s bishops’ conference.
The Diocese of Bluefields is led by the 60-year-old Bishop Francisco José Tigerino Dávila.
The Diocese of Estelí has been vacant since July 2021.
The Diocese of Granada is led by the 62-year-old Bishop Jorge Solórzano Pérez, who is also bishops’ conference general secretary.
The Diocese of Jinotega is led by the 75-year-old Bishop Carlos Enrique Herrera Gutiérrez, O.F.M., who is also bishops’ conference president
The Diocese of Juigalpa is led by the 59-year-old Bishop Marcial Humberto Guzmán Saballo.
The Diocese of León en Nicaragua is led by the 58-year-old Bishop René Sócrates Sándigo Jirón.
The Diocese of Matagalpa is led by the exiled 57-year-old Bishop Álvarez.
The Diocese of Siuna is led by the 54-year-old Bishop Isidoro del Carmen Mora Ortega, who was arrested in December 2023 and exiled in January this year, alongside Bishop Álvarez.
The Vatican embassy to Nicaragua, meanwhile, has been vacant since the apostolic nuncio Archbishop Waldemar Stanisław Sommertag was obliged to leave the country in March 2022.
Amid the hollowing out of the hierarchy, the deportation of priests and seminarians, and the targeting of Church institutions, some Nicaraguan Catholics have accused Brenes of failing to show courageous leadership.
Supporters, meanwhile, argue that his irenic approach has been motivated by a desire to avoid making a terrible situation even worse.
More than half of Nicaragua’s population has a favorable opinion of the cardinal, who is described as a humble figure. In 2014, he arrived in Rome for the consistory where he received the cardinal’s red hat wearing blue jeans.
Papal conundrum
In his 75th birthday interview, Cardinal Brenes said he did not know when Pope Francis would accept his resignation, but if the pope did, he would happily put himself at the disposal of his successor, the fifth Archbishop of Managua.
The website Artículo 66 quoted an unnamed source in Nicaragua who suggested that Brenes would remain in post for at least three more years.
The website said that Bishop Álvarez was seen as his likely successor, despite currently living in exile. Like Álvarez, Brenes served as Bishop of Matagalpa before his appointment to Managua. Both Managua’s second and third archbishops also spent time in the Matagalpa diocese.
“Bishop Álvarez has earned that right,” the source told Artículo 66. “We have all witnessed what kind of priest the bishop is. That doesn’t mean Cardinal Brenes will leave tomorrow, though. It will take more time, months and even years to see that, there is still a long way to go.”
What if Pope Francis decided to name Álvarez as the Archbishop of Managua tomorrow? That would be seen as a provocation, an unnamed priest told the website.
“Let us not forget that the Church is always wise,” said the priest, “she measures the times and assigns the right people.”
What is the Ortega regime seeking, beyond an acquiescent Church willing to overlook its human rights violations? Activists in Nicaragua believe that the crackdown on clergy is meant to pressure the Holy See into giving the government a formal say in the appointment of bishops — perhaps along the lines of the Vatican-China deal.
The saga of Álvarez’s imprisonment showed there are direct communications between the Vatican and the regime. But the Holy See is likely to be extremely reluctant to concede what could amount to a veto over episcopal nominations.
The alternative to a confrontational appointment in Managua might be to do nothing for now, in hopes that conditions will improve in the next few years.
But if the Catholic Church opts to play a waiting game, it may need considerable patience. Daniel Ortega is currently 78, while his powerful spouse, Rosario Murillo (who congratulated Brenes yesterday on his 75th birthday), is 72.
In three years, the situation could be substantially the same, or have deteriorated further, making the succession no easier than it would be today.
Editor’s note: This article was updated March 9 to note that Siuna’s Bishop Mora was arrested in December 2023 and exiled in January 2024.
I highly doubt that Pope Francis will appoint Bishop Álvarez as the next archbishop of Managua. It would be seen as a direct provocation to the Nicaraguan regime and an escalation of the situation between the government and the Church. That has never been Pope Francis' style. If anything he is likely to appoint someone more conciliatory towards the regime than Cardinal Brenes, as he has done in other places like Hong Kong. I do think, however, that Cardinal Brenes will remain in his post for several more years at least and the Vatican will put off the appointment of his successor for as long as possible.