Roman Catholicism came to Nicaragua in the sixteenth century when the country was invaded by the Spanish. It is no longer the official Church of the country, but almost 60% of the people are Roman Catholic and most towns and villages have a Roman Catholic church. There are also over 300 Roman Catholic Church Schools in the country - these are usually in the smaller towns and villages where the government will not pay for a school.

(Right) A Prayer Garden beside a Roman Catholic Church. This garden includes a well, where local residents come to get water when their own water supplies fail during power cuts.

Roman Catholic churches celebrate the special days (feast days) of the saints with great enthusiasm - this usually includes processions in which statues of saints are carried from village to village.

For Christians Christmas and Easter are the most important festivals, but the Roman Catholics of Nicaragua also celebrate La Purísima (the festival of the Immaculate Conception of Mary) which is a whole week of festivities in early December,. Unlike Mardi Gras parades which have largely lost their original Catholic meaning, these celebrations remain the veneration of the Virgin Mary. Purisima is nine days of prayer and devotion ending with La Griteria which is a noisy festival held on December 7th, the final day of La Purisima. People also have meetings in their homes throughout the festival when they will pray and sing in front of the shrines, and singers receive gifts from the altar's hosts. La Griteria finishes with fireworks, firecrackers, and shouting. The people shout is: "Quién causa tanta alegría?" (Who causes this happiness?). People answer with the massive response, "La Concepción de María". As the fireworks explode around them, Nicaraguans go to the streets to "shout" to the virgin. They walk the streets to visit and sing to each altar. House owners give a small gift such as fruit, candy, toys, noisemakers, or drink, and then the group travels to the next altar. This will go on until the gifts run out or there are no more singers.

Colourful painted crosses are often found in Central and South America. Sometimes they have a painting of Jesus on the cross, but often they will tell a story about the Christians who painted them - this one shows Jesus with the people of the local village and the dove of peace. What would you paint on a cross like this?

The Iglesia Luterana Fe y Esperanza de Nicaragua (ILFE or Nicaraguan Lutheran Church) works around the capital, Managua with three farming cooperatives (where poor farners share a farm together). They help the farmers with small grants to buy seeds and to prepare the land, and they help them find markets for their crops.

The ILFE sponsors a health care programme which provides outpatient clinics and runs a Health Care programme for rural villages. They bring clean water to the villages, help families learn about good nutrition, and run clinics for pregnant mothers and mothers with young children.

Christ in the Garbage Ministry

In Managua there is a city dump called La Chureca which covers 38 acres and is home to 1,500 people, half of whom are under the age of eighteen. These people try to make a living from the tons of garbage brought in each day. The Christ in the Garbage Ministry runs a feeding programme for these people, and a training centre where they can learn skills such as sewing. They also run a home for mentally and physically handicapped children who have been abandoned on the dump, or brought there from elsewhere in Nicaragua - it is called Hogar Belen ("The Place of Peace"). The home is designed for 30 children, but there are plans to expand it to accomodate 80. There are 4 pavilions, a chapel, and the 'rancho', where the children rest and play during the day. There is also a physiotherapy room, kitchen and dining room, offices, storage rooms, bathrooms, laundry area, park and a new "sensory room." Find out more about the project at http://www.mustardseed.com/locations/nicaragua.html