The Church of Our Lady of Candelariabetter known as La Candelaria church, is one of the busiest Catholic temples in Caracas, partly because it is located in one of the most central areas of the city: People take advantage of visiting God before or after doing some errand; but above all because there are the remains of Saint Joseph Gregorio Hernandezcanonized this Sunday by Pope Leo XIV along with Saint Carmen Rendiles. Then parishioners often ask him for his intercession in favor of countless intentions.
That is why the night before the declaration of the Holy Father was filled with an atmosphere of so much joy, fervent prayer and tears in the temple, where there were long lines of faithful to approach the minor altar, where José Gregorio Hernández is located, in order to make requests to him and even congratulate him because after 76 long years the universal Church has recognized his holiness.
People lined up to enter the temple, at least since Saturday afternoon, even though the ceremony at the Vatican was scheduled for 4:00 am, Venezuela time. These are the first saints of the countrywhich has two other blesseds also with deep roots in the population, María de San José, the first Venezuelan blessed and founder of the Congregation of the Augustinian Recollects of the Heart of Jesus, and Candelaria de San José, founder of the Congregation of the Carmelite Sisters of San José.
Activities to celebrate Venezuelan saints
At midnight, with hundreds of people in the church, fireworks sounded to announce the vigil for the canonization of Carmen Rendiles and José Gregorio Hernández. People applauded while Father Gerson Suárez, vicar of La Candelaria, came out from time to time to explain the activities that were going to be carried out. One of the first was the procession of the relics of Saints José Gregorio Hernández and Carmen Rendiles so that they could be displayed next to Jesús Sacramentado, in one of the most emotional moments of the night, with people expressing adoration and praise to God.
After a time of worship in which people could offer their intentions, Father Suárez carried the Blessed Sacrament in procession along with the relics of José Gregorio and Carmen Rendileswhile the people, kneeling, sitting or standing, crossed themselves between tears or joy. It is a moment in which the faithful can be close to the Lord, this time in the company of the first Venezuelan saints in the Catholic Church.
At the end of the procession, The halo of José Gregorio Hernández, an iconographic element in Catholicism that is placed on the head or body of sacred figures such as Jesus, the Virgin Mary, angels or saints, was moved from the altar to the place where the remains of the doctor of the poor rest, and the procession of the images of the doctor and Carmen Rendiles began to the outskirts of the La Candelaria church, his a sculpture looking towards the sky as if crying out for requests and hers her classic painting but adorned with the colors of the Venezuelan flag. People used this time of serenity to pray inside the temple waiting for Leo XIV’s declaration or to sing the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
The hours passed, almost 4:00 am, and the parishioners remained in the temple, some praying the rosary, others kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament, some even on the verge of falling asleep in their chairs. Before Leo
In addition to José Gregorio Hernández and Carmen Rendiles, Leo XIV declared five other faithful of the Catholic Church saints: Bartolo Longo, Italian blessed and promoter of the Rosary; Ignatius Choukrallah Maloyan, Armenian martyr; Peter To Rot, lay catechist and martyr of Papua New Guinea; Vincenza María Poloni, Italian nun, and María Troncatti, Italian missionary nun. As the names were mentioned, anxiety grew until those of the Venezuelans were heard and the parishioners in La Candelaria rose in applause.
Emotions in the temple
When the canonization of Carmen Rendiles and José Gregorio Hernández became official, The congregation hugged each other between the seats and the aisles, as if they had been waiting too long for something they already knew.. As if canonization were important for Catholics or non-believers, for people of any political tendency or background. If there is anyone who has united Venezuelans, they are José Gregorio Hernández and Carmen Rendiles, because in the early hours of Sunday morning no one allowed the decision of the Holy See to be sabotaged, although there were attempts to politicize it.
In the hands of a girl dressed as an angel, in a procession, the halo, created by the goldsmith Arcangelo Giandoniwhich will now be the official image of José Gregorio Hernández. Outside you could hear bagpipes and Catholic songs like “Dignified and Good Servant”, the saint’s hymn that moved the faithful. “I feel a unique joy. A joy. Because this country already has two saints, Saint José Gregorio Hernández and our mother Carmen Rendiles. Let all Venezuelans follow the example of faith and hope, let us shine as those two Venezuelans shone,” said Yasenka Uzcátegui, a member of the group Centinelas de San José Gregorio Hernández, which congregates in La Candelaria.
“I think that these two canonizations are blessings that the Lord and the Pope gave us. Venezuela will take a course in which there will be peace, love, harmony. We will be as we have always been, happy, charismatic and with a lot of happiness and joy,” added the devotee.
Historical canonization
Andreína Toro attended the celebration in gratitude to Saint José Gregorio Hernández, who, she said, saved her 19 years ago from a traffic accident during a downpour. “A man dressed in white was our help, he was our help and intercessor to save us in the accident. And mother Carmen Rendiles is an example that, even with a disability, we can move forward, help and serve others: love and serve, that is our reason for being,” he said.
Pedro Ignacio Carvallo Álvarez, doctor, great-grandnephew of José Gregorio Hernández and disseminator of his legacy, stated that his canonization along with that of Carmen Rendiles is a “very special occasion for the entire country”, because “the truth is that this is a national fact, it is a milestone in our history, it has to do with everything that is the spiritual aspect of the country, as a whole and with the Venezuelan as an individual.”
“At this moment we are all elevated because the virtue, the holiness, of a Venezuelan (José Gregorio) who simply understood what life was in that sense has been recognized, and through his medical practice he was charitable under an approach of great compassion and solidarity, which gave his medical practice another dimension,” he said.
