Cardinal Leopoldo José Brenes, Archbishop of Managua and the only cardinal residing in Nicaragua, did not attend the Consistory of Cardinals held in Rome on January 7 and 8, 2026. Although he himself stated that he had not “received an invitation” to participate, ecclesiastical sources indicate that the real reason might be linked to the restrictions imposed by Daniel Ortega’s regime in Nicaragua, which controls the freedom of movement of the country’s bishops.
In a television interview after a Mass celebrated in Managua Cathedral, Cardinal Brenes stated that he did not participate in the consistory because he had not been invited nor had he received any official communication allowing him to travel to Rome. “I have been checking my email, my WhatsApp, and the communications from the College of Cardinals,” said the prelate, in apparent explanation of his absence.
However, sources close to the Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference consulted by The Pillar expressed that it is unlikely that the cardinal was not invited to the consistory, indicating that all active cardinals receive a formal summons for this type of meeting. Rather, according to these sources, it is more likely that Brenes was unable to leave the country due to pressure from the Sandinista regime or fear of not being able to return if he undertook the trip.
The Nicaraguan context reinforces this reading. Nicaragua has been living in an environment of strong state control over society and religious organizations since the 2018 protests, when President Daniel Ortega‘s regime launched an intensive repression against Church leaders and Catholic faithful, which included imprisonments, forced exiles, and constant surveillance of the clergy.
According to some ecclesiastical observers, Brenes would have chosen to stay in Managua also due to a mix of personal and political factors: fear of not being able to return to the country and concern for the internal situation of the local Church, in the face of a regime that has forced several bishops into exile, including his auxiliary, Bishop Silvio Báez, whose current whereabouts are outside Nicaragua.
Other sources indicate that, although all invitations were issued by the Holy See, Brenes may have avoided publicly clarifying the real reasons for his absence, perhaps to not expose the delicate situation of the Nicaraguan Church under the Ortega-Murillo government or to avoid an open confrontation with the civil authorities.