Mons. Rolando Álvarez will participate in the Synod of Synodality

Mons. Rolando Álvarez, Bishop of Matagalpa (Nicaragua) exiled in Rome since January of this year, will participate in the next Synod of Synodality, which will take place during the month of October in the Italian capital.

The number of Mons. Alvarez appears on the final list that the Vatican has provided this September 16 with the participants of the second and last session of the Synod of Synodality, which will take place from October 2 to 27.

Specifically, the Nicaraguan bishop who was deported to Rome on January 14 by the Daniel Ortega regime appears within the group of pontifical appointments.

This category is made up of those prelates chosen directly and on the Holy Father’s own initiative.

The prelate’s participation in this great event of the Catholic Church represents a change in the usual discretion that he has had since arriving in the Eternal City.

It would be the third public appearance since the deportation of the bishop, known for his unwavering defense of human rights and harsh criticism of the Nicaraguan dictatorship.

It should be remembered that on January 15 of this year, the first images of the bishop were published along with other banished priests while they were celebrating Mass in a church in Rome.

Likewise, last June he visited the Spanish city of Seville (Spain) and also the Sanctuary of Covadonga, in Asturias.

Who is Bishop Rolando Álvarez?

Bishop Rolando Álvarez, 57, was appointed Bishop of Matagalpa in 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI. His fierce defense of human rights against the regime’s abuses—especially during the civil demonstrations of 2018—earned him persecution by dictator Daniel Ortega.

Bishop Álvarez was forced to remain confined inside his episcopal house since the beginning of August 2022, along with priests, seminarians and a layman.

Two weeks later, when they had almost run out of food, the police broke into the house and kidnapped Mons. Álvarez to Managua, the country’s capital.

In the midst of a questioned process, the dictatorship sentenced him on February 10, 2023 to 26 years and four months in prison, accusing him of “traitor to the country.” Since then, he was held in La Modelo prison, where political prisoners are sent.

One day before being sentenced, Bishop Álvarez had refused to get on a plane on which the dictatorship deported more than 200 political prisoners to the United States.

He was finally deported to Rome on January 14, 2024, after mediation by the Vatican, together with the Bishop of Siuna, Mons. Isidoro Mora; other priests and seminarians.