
COLUMBIA, KY., — After celebrating Mass Dec. 29, 2023, in the Diocese of Managua, Nicaragua, police officers entered the sacristy of Santa Faz Church and arrested Father Silvio Fonseca Martinez.
A year later and more than 3,000 miles away, Father Fonseca Martinez has found a new parish home and freedom to minister again in Jamestown, Ky.
Father Fonseca Martinez arrived in the Archdiocese of Louisville in September of 2024 and serves as associate pastor of Holy Spirit Church in Jamestown, where the Hispanic and Latino community is growing, said the parish pastor, Carmelite Father Johnson Thekkudan.
Father Fonseca Martinez was one of 15 priests, two bishops and two seminarians from Nicaragua who were exiled to Rome in January 2024. Among them are Bishop Rolando Álvarez of the Diocese of Matagalpa and the Diocese of Estelí and Bishop Isidoro Mora of the Diocese of Siuna, Nicaragua.
Since 2018, Catholic churches and institutions and members of the clergy and religious have faced persecution from the country’s authoritarian government led by President Daniel Ortega, according to reports by OSV News.
Though his assignment in rural Russell County, Ky., followed many difficult situations — including two weeks in a maximum security prison in his native country — Father Fonseca Martinez said he believes it’s God’s providence at work.

“Father Johnson has received me as a brother and the people have given me a warm welcome,” he said during a recent interview at Good Shepherd Church in Columbia, Ky., where he resides. “I’m very grateful. I hope to contribute to the archdiocese and I’m enthusiastic to help in this rural area.”
Father Fonseca Martinez said he and the other churchmen arrived in Rome on Jan. 14, 2024, with nothing — prison guards had given him a pair of shoes, a shirt and a pair of pants to change into before boarding a bus that transported them to an airplane bound for Venezuela. From Venezuela they flew to Portugal and then to Rome.
They wept when they arrived in Rome, he said, the memory bringing fresh tears to his eyes.
Father Fonseca Martinez — who is in his 44th year of priesthood — said he doesn’t understand the “hatred” the Nicaraguan government seems to have for the church.
“We dedicated our time to preaching the Word and faithfulness to the church. … The priests are doing good for the people. I accompanied the people in their pain,” he said. “We’ve never seen before what’s happening in Nicaragua. They’re trying to destroy the structure, but they can’t destroy the church.”
He derives satisfaction in knowing he never abandoned his parishioners.
“Being faithful to the church, the people and the country, that’s our crime,” he said.
Father Fonseca Martinez said despite the political situation in Nicaragua, he misses his homeland and hopes to return one day. He has a brother and many nieces and nephews still living there.
“We pray for the government to live in peace (with the people ) as sons and daughters of the same country,” he said. “Nicaragua needs a profound conversion.”
While the people of Santa Faz Church remain in his heart and his prayers, he said he’s turning his attention to the needs of parishioners, both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking at the parishes he serves. He is associate pastor at Good Shepherd and at Holy Redeemer Church in Greensburg, Ky., as well.
“I want to unite them,” he said.
In spending time with Hispanic and Latino parishioners, he said he’s already seen many needs.
“There’s a lot of fear in the immigrant communities because of immigration issues. The Hispanic community needs to be understood not only in their language but their culture,” he said. “I want to be a voice for the Hispanic community to the archdiocese, to speak their needs. They have hope that I can support them.”
Father Fonseca Martinez also has a hope for the Hispanic and Latino community in Russell and the surrounding counties — one shared by Father Thekkudan: faith formation in their native language.
Both priests are concerned that Spanish speakers are leaving the church. Father Thekkudan, who is also the pastor of Good Shepherd and Holy Redeemer Church in Greensburg, Ky., said these parishioners tend to go where there are services in Spanish, even if the church isn’t Catholic.
“They aren’t receiving the sacraments. They need to realize the church is with them and help them come to a strong faith” through formation, said Father Thekkudan. They need to know the “church is loving you and the church is here for you.”
Father Fonseca Martinez agreed.
“One of my goals is to form the laity in their language. It needs immediate attention,” he said.
Father Thekkudan also noted that the Hispanic and Latino communities face many challenges because of their legal status — some are undocumented. Unstable family life is another concern for families that move around seeking employment, Father Thekkudan said. He hopes Father Fonseca Martinez will be able to help these families find some stability.
“His presence is important,” said Father Thekkudan.
For his part, Father Fonseca Martinez said, “I am enthusiastic to do what I can with love.”