Blessed Carmen Rendiles
Monday, July 23, 2018
*Rogelio Zelada
The Estadio Universitario de Caracas (Caracas University Stadium) overflowed, unable to accommodate the thousands of faithful gathered for the big celebration.
A huge jubilant tide filled the stadium where, for the third time, the Church officially proclaimed the holy life of a Venezuelan woman. Joining Mother María de San José, founder of the Augustinian Recollects, and Mother Candelaria of San José, founder of the Carmelite Sisters, was Mother Carmen Rendiles Martínez, founder of the Servants of Jesus — another Venezuelan religious community dedicated to the work of supporting the parish mission, diocesan priests, seminaries, catechesis, the administration of schools and colleges, and the care of the poor and the elderly.
Blessed Carmen Rendiles
Carmen Rendiles was born August 11, 1903 in Caracas, in the midst of a deeply Christian family. The third of nine siblings, she came into the world with the disadvantage of a missing left arm, a difficulty that did not prevent her from having a normal life and developing a great ability for art, embroidery and painting. The heavy and uncomfortable prosthesis that she carried was not an impediment to doing her homework, completing her academic studies or carrying out the proper offices of religious life. From a young age, she felt a strong yearning for the consecrated life, but because of her apparent physical limitation, many communities where she inquired did not admit her, for fear that she could not keep up with the working pace of the congregation.
In her search, she met some French religious recently arrived in Venezuela: the Servants of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, a congregation with a strong Eucharistic charism. Carmen Rendiles had accompanied a friend who was interested in joining the Servants, but the nun who spoke with them noticed something very special in her and invited her to return. The nun did not reject her for missing an arm, but welcomed her into the small community, where she made perpetual vows in 1932. She was sent to Toulouse, France, to complete her training at the Mother House of the congregation. Upon her return to Caracas, she was named novice mistress. All women religious of that time remember her high intelligence, great kindness and prudence, serenity, soft smile, remarkable imagination and creativity and, above all, her humility and constant kindness.
Her work within the congregation soon led her to be named provincial superior. It was a time of growth for the Servants guided by Mother Carmen: a school in San Cristóbal, Cúcuta; caring for the Archbishop's Palace, the Cathedral and the Colegio Belén, in Caracas; the Diocesan Seminary of San Cristóbal; a school for poor girls in El Paraíso, and many more foundations in Venezuela and Colombia.
A major change in the French religious caused them to become a secular institute, abandoning the use of the habit and the primitive constitutions of the congregation. The Venezuelan and Colombian sisters had to reflect and consult about these changes that impacted so much their identity. With the support of Cardinal José Humberto Quintero, archbishop of Caracas, the bishops, the chaplains and the sisters in Venezuela and Colombia, the group decided to separate from the European religious. In 1966, they became a congregation of diocesan right with the support of the Holy See, a new religious family dedicated to promoting and living the devotion to the Eucharist, aiding the diocesan clergy, seminaries and schools, and caring for the poor and needy.
Mother Carmen Rendiles was elected Superior General of the new congregation which, from that moment, experienced a strong growth with more than 20 communities in Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador. Exhausted by weak health, by all the work that fell on her shoulders, and by great physical suffering, Mother Rendiles died May 9, 1977, after 50 fertile years of consecrated life. The process of canonization began 20 years later, and on December 19, 2017, Pope Francis solemnly approved the beatification of Mother Carmen after the investigating commission verified the supernatural character of a miracle obtained through the intercession of the religious woman from Caracas.
The beatification Mass was presided by the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Angelo Amato, representing Pope Francis, together with Cardinal Jorge Urosa, archbishop of Caracas; Baltazar Porras, archbishop of Mérida; the archbishop of Maracaibo, José Luis Azuaje, president of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference; and the Apostolic Nuncio, Msgr. Aldo Giordano.
Cardinal Amato recalled in his homily, “The saints are the most beautiful face of the Church, because they have always done good in their lives. With her beatification, Mother Carmen embellishes the rich necklace of Venezuelan sanctity.” The large crowd gathered at the Estadio Universitario applauded very enthusiastically when the cardinal mentioned the process of the venerable Doctor José Gregorio Hernández, and asked for prayers to obtain from God the miracle needed for his beatification. At the end of the liturgy, a unanimous chorus began to shout, “¡Que venga el Papa!” (Let the Pope come!), followed by “¡Libertad, libertad!” (Freedom, freedom!). Before giving the final blessing, Cardinal Amato smiled and said, “I will let the Pope know.”
