The Archdiocese of Caracas announced on Wednesday the unexpected cancellation of a weekend mass intended to honor the recent canonizations of Saints José Gregorio Hernández and Carmen Rendilles, who are considered Venezuela’s first Catholic saints.
The archdiocese mentioned overcrowding as the reason for this abrupt decision; ACI Prensa reported that the cancellation followed tensions between the Catholic Church and socialist leader Nicolas Maduro.
Pope Leo XIV canonized seven new saints on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, among them Venezuelan saints José Gregorio Hernández and Maria Carmen Rendírez. Maduro’s government sent an official delegation to the canonization ceremony, where a dispute arose between a socialist group and Venezuelan believers who chose not to participate.
In this charged atmosphere, a journalist from the Catholic media outlet The Pillar was reportedly assaulted. A member of Maduro’s delegation, businessman Ricardo Cisneros, questioned Archbishop Edgar Robinson Peña Parra about the politicization of the canonization, prompting condemnation from the Vatican following the attack on the reporter.
On social media, the socialist government attempted to promote a narrative suggesting that Nicolas Maduro was instrumental in the canonization of St. Hernández; however, the process had actually begun 76 years earlier in 1949, long before Maduro’s era. While Maduro’s regime claims that the dictator’s meeting with Pope Francis in 2013 played a role in the canonization, the Vatican’s statements did not support this view.
To celebrate the canonization, the Archdiocese of Caracas planned a “Feast of the Saints” Mass for Saturday, October 25, at a stadium. However, three days before the event, it announced the cancellation due to an overwhelming number of 80,000 registered participants, far surpassing the stadium’s 48,000-seat capacity.
According to El Estimulo, the church had intended to reserve 12,000 seats in the central area for special guests. The report also indicated that, in response to concerns about the possible politicization of the canonization, the Venezuelan church chose to cancel the mass. The church stated that it had invested considerable time in preparing for the event.
“After careful analysis of potential locations, we have determined that it is not feasible to hold the celebration at Monumental Stadium given the necessary safety and capacity considerations,” the archdiocese stated.
As a consequence of the cancellation, local celebrations were encouraged in the dioceses of Caracas. The archdiocese distributed 500 stoles, 60,000 communion wafers, and other necessary supplies intended for the mass to local communities.
Sunday’s canonization of St. José Gregorio Hernández marked the completion of a lengthy process initiated by the Venezuelan Catholic Church and has created more tension between the church and Venezuela’s socialist government.
Maduro accused Cardinal Baltazar Porras of conspiracy to obstruct the canonization and, shortly after, Minister Diosdado Cabello echoed similar sentiments, alleging that Porras was attempting to “politicize” the event. Meanwhile, Cardinal Porras had previously denounced the moral crisis in Venezuela and the regime’s persecution of political dissenters.
For years, the Venezuelan government has criticized Archbishop Porras, mistakenly attributing intentions of conspiracy against the regime to him. This hostility isn’t new; in 2000, Hugo Chavez claimed that Porras harbored “the devil under his cassock.”
In the lead-up to the canonization on October 19, the Episcopal Church of Venezuela appealed to President Maduro to release around 900 unjustly detained political prisoners, a request that seems to have gone ignored.
During the first mass of thanksgiving for the canonization in St. Peter’s Basilica, Cardinal Pietro Parolin called for the release of political prisoners. His words resonated with a call for justice and liberation, reminiscent of the struggles faced by many in Venezuela.
