Pope Leo XIV canonized José Gregorio Hernández and Carmen Rendiles, the first saints of Venezuela

Pope Leo XIV canonized José Gregorio Hernández and Carmen Rendiles, the first saints of Venezuela

October 19, 2025 – 13:04

The “doctor of the poor”, José Gregorio Hernández, and the “charismatic founder” Carmen Rendiles were elevated to the altars along with five other religious figures before thousands of faithful who witnessed the ceremony.

Vatican News

Pope Leo XIV canonized seven new saints this Sunday in St. Peter’s Square in Romehighlighting among them the Venezuelans José Gregorio Hernández and Carmen Rendiles, who became the first saints of Venezuela.

The “doctor of the poor”, José Gregorio Hernández, and the “charismatic founder” Carmen Rendiles were elevated to the altars along with five other religious figures before thousands of faithful who witnessed the ceremony.

Pope Leo XIV canonized José Gregorio Hernández and Carmen Rendiles

During the ritual, The prefect of the dicastery for the Cause of All Saints read the biographies of the seven blesseds, requesting that their names be inscribed in the book of saintsafter which the Pope read the Latin formula for canonization, received with strong applause.

In his homily, The pontiff maintained that faith “stands out” in the face of great goods, since “without faith they lose meaning”. Furthermore, the Pope stressed that the new saints are not “heroes” or “paladins of any ideal”, but “authentic men and women.”

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The “doctor of the poor”, José Gregorio Hernández, and the “charismatic founder” Carmen Rendiles were elevated to the altars along with five other religious figures before thousands of faithful who witnessed the ceremony.

Leo XIV described the layman José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros (1864 -1919), beatified in 2021 and “benefactor of humanity with a heart burning with devotion”, for his free work for poor patientswhom he even assisted with money for medicine, which made him a symbol in the country. As for the nun Carmen Elena Rendiles (1903-1977), whose canonization was approved in April, he defined her as a “charismatic founder” who dedicated her life to education and service.despite being born without a left arm and founding the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus.

The canonization occurs at a time of great relevance for Venezuela, uniting opposing positions. The Venezuelan vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, stated that “holiness comes at an extraordinary moment for our country, at a time of deep unitywhere the miserable people who try to instrumentalize a sanctification process of so much sacrifice are completely excluded.” For their part, The opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, María Corina Machado, stated that “the great miracle we expect from our saints is to be able to hug each other on that Simón Bolívar bridge.to be able to hug each other at the airport.”

Along with the Venezuelans, Ignacio Choukrallah Maloyan, Armenian Catholic archbishop, was also canonized; Papua New Guinean layman Peter To Rot; the Italian nuns Vincenza Maria Poloni and María Troncatti, and the Italian layman Bartolo Longo.


Source: Ambito

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