Meeting With a Mother in Rome

“Encuentro con una madre en Roma” is a personal reflection written by Bishop Silvio José Báez, O.C.D., auxiliary bishop of Managua. First published online on 5 October 2018 by Confidencial—an award-winning independent Nicaraguan media outlet—and later on 10 October by Religión Digital, the piece recalls his encounter with President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro during her visit to Rome in the 1990s. Carmelite Quotes is honored to offer this original English translation with the bishop’s kind permission. Doña Violeta was born in Rivas, Nicaragua, on 18 October 1929, and died in exile in San José, Costa Rica, on 14 June 2025.

In the mid-1990s, while I was in Rome pursuing my doctorate in Sacred Scripture, Doña Violeta, then President of the Republic, came on a visit to the Eternal City. Through the Nicaraguan Embassy to the Holy See, she graciously invited the few Nicaraguan priests studying there to meet with her. She welcomed us at the door of the embassy with a warm smile and a big hug:

“How lovely to see you, my beautiful boys!” she said. “It makes me so happy to see you! Come in!” Then, turning to some of the embassy staff, she added, “Go on, bring the fathers a little Coke and a piece of cake.”

We had come to visit the president of our country—but what we found was a mother. We were expecting formal diplomatic protocol—but there was none, only warm and human hospitality. A couple of hours passed in simple, friendly conversation with her about the situation in Nicaragua and the challenges of her presidency. But she also asked about what clearly mattered deeply to her: how our studies were going, what needs we had in Rome, how our families were doing, and more.

It was an unforgettable meeting.

I understood then that Nicaragua—wounded by years of war and suffering, authoritarianism and poverty—was now in the hands of a mother. The country needed peace and rebuilding, and that mother, a woman both gentle and strong, intelligent and unpretentious, was striving to make our society into a great family. She did what she could—and she did a great deal.

In the profound political and social crisis we are living through today, we feel such a deep need for her human style, her honest leadership, and her great ideals of peace and democracy.

Doña Violeta will live forever in the heart of God, whom she loved and worshipped. And she will always be remembered as an admirable protagonist of one of the most glorious chapters in Nicaragua’s history.

Thank you, Doña Violeta!

#BishopSilvioJoséBáez #Carmelite #DiscalcedCarmelite #Nicaragua #Rome #SilvioJBaez #VioletaChamorro

"Doña Violeta est décédée paisiblement, entourée de l’affection et de l’amour de ses enfants et des personnes qui...

'Doña Violeta est décédée paisiblement, entourée de l’affection et de l’amour de ses enfants et des personnes qui...#MORT #NICARAGUA #DECES #VIOLETACHAMORRO
Violeta Chamorro, ex-présidente du Nicaragua, est décédée à l’âge de 95 ans - RTBF Actus