AMERICA/NICARAGUA - The "Missionary Jubilee Year in the family" begins, on the feast of the Black Christ

Matagalpa (Agenzia Fides) - Today, "the Missionary Jubilee Year Family" begins in Nicaragua, which coincides with the celebration of the national patronal feast of Nuestro Señor de Esquipulas. The great feast began yesterday, January 14, with a mass pilgrimage from three different points of the country towards the Diocesan Shrine of Our Lord of Esquipulas to celebrate the religious feast in honor of the "Black Christ", as it is called by the people of Central America (in fact, the feast is celebrated also in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico).
The religious celebrations in the city of Matagalpa this year are characterized by the slogan "90 years for a new evangelization", according to what was reported to Fides Agency in a note by the Bishop of Matagalpa, His Exc. Mgr. José Rolando Alvarez Lagos.
In addition to recalling the expiration date of the 90 years since the construction of the new Shrine, "the Missionary Jubilee Year in the Family" wants to emphasize the missionary commitment of all the baptized in the diocese, in the wake of the Aparecida document.
The pilgrimage to the Shrine of Esquipulas was established 19 years ago by the then Bishop of Matagalpa and the current Archbishop of Managua, His Exc. Mgr. Leopoldo José Brenes Solórzano, and every year the participation of the faithful increases. Last year, the police recorded the participation of over 30,000 people from different parts of the country and this year we expect an even greater turnout. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 15/01/2014)