Nicaragua exhibits its patron saints in the Plaza La Fe Juan Pablo II

Managua, Dec 3 (EFE).- The Government of Nicaragua, through the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism (Intur), exhibited on Friday replicas of the patron saints of the different municipalities of the country, as a way of attracting tourism, and in the absence of representatives of the Nicaraguan Catholic Church.

The 6th edition of the “National Exhibition of Our Patron Saints” was inaugurated in Plaza La Fe Juan Pablo II, located on the shores of Lake Xolotlan or Managua, by Intur co-director Anasha Campbell.

In her speech, the official said that this event recognizes the traditions of faith, customs, culture and religion.

“We pay homage to God, who gives us the blessing of life, mercy with which he has blessed Nicaragua, blessed, beautiful and always free,” she said.

The exhibition brings together 136 replicas of the patron saints of Nicaragua’s 153 municipalities.

The three-day event will include cultural programs, as well as showcasing of products from handicrafts, gastronomy, leather and footwear, textiles and clothing, among others.

No representative of the Catholic Church was present at the inaugural ceremony in a country where an overwhelming majority of the people profess Catholicism.

President Daniel Ortega, who was re-elected in November amid questions about the legitimacy of the process, has accused the clergy of working with international forces against the country to overthrow him.

Relations between the Sandinista government, led by Ortega, and Nicaragua’s Catholic Church have been marked by friction and mistrust over the past 42 years. EFE

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