The priest who was attacked with acid while hearing confessions at the Managua Cathedral in Nicaragua in 2018 by Russian national Elis Leonidovna Gonn has died on Sunday, October 12.
Father Mario de Jesus Guevara Calero, 66, was the spiritual director of the La Purísima Archdiocesan Major Seminary in Nicaragua.
The Archbishop of Managua, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, along with the clergy, extended their condolences to the priest’s family, the seminary community, and the parishioners he faithfully served for years across various parishes in the archdiocese.
Following the acid attack on December 5, 2018, Fr. Mario underwent multiple surgeries and extensive medical treatment. The attacker, a Russian national, was later arrested, and Fr. Mario chose to forgive her. The assault took place during a year when the dictatorship in Nicaragua intensified its crackdown on the Catholic Church. In August 2019, the regime of President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo released Gonn, who was subsequently expelled from the country.
Martha Patricia Molina, author of the report “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church,” shared on platform X that God has welcomed Father Mario Guevara into holy heaven. She expressed gratitude to the Almighty for his life and ministry.
Cardinal Brenes shared that even in difficult situations, Fr. Mario was serving the communities with total generosity.
Speaking about the priest’s final illness, the cardinal noted that in his last months, he endured a personal Calvary, with his suffering resembling a path of bitterness. Despite this, during visits to the hospital and occasionally at the seminary, the cardinal observed that the priest continued to smile. What stood out most to him was seeing the Liturgy of the Hours by the priest’s bedside and a holy rosary in his hands.
Cardinal Brenes highlighted that Fr. Mario preached not with grand words, but through the powerful witness of his simple life. “And what was the source of that power,” he added, “if not the very person of Jesus himself?”