Overview
- José Gregorio Hernández and Carmen Rendiles were declared saints in a Vatican ceremony that canonized seven people from several countries.
- Crowd estimates for the Mass in St. Peter’s Square ranged from about 55,000 to 70,000 attendees, many waving Venezuelan flags.
- Pope León XIV later blessed the image of the Señor de los Milagros in the square after the Angelus, a rare public gesture toward a revered procession image.
- On the eve of the canonization, Venezuelans rallied in Rome calling for the release of political prisoners, as the national bishops’ conference urged state measures of grace; authorities in Caracas reject the label of political prisoners.
- Vatican official Edgar Peña Parra framed the new saints as a universal example of hope and a potential point of unity for Venezuelans.