Jitka Trmalová
On Sunday, April 27, 2008, the beatification of the Carmelite Mother Candelaria of St. Joseph took place at the university stadium in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. Mother Candelaria thus became the first saint recognized by the Church in this South American country. She is the founder of the congregation originally called the Little Sisters of the Poor – now called the “Venezuelan Carmelites” or officially “Carmelite Sisters of Mother Candelaria” (Hermanas carmelitas de Madre Candelaria). The beatification ceremony was attended by over 40,000 people at the stadium itself, and another 20,000 watched the liturgy nearby on giant television screens. The atmosphere was very joyful and festive. The papal legate Cardinal Saraiva Martins presided over the service and also read the beatification decree. Alongside him, a multitude of Venezuelan bishops, many priests, laypeople, religious men and women, especially the Sisters of Mother Candelaria, gathered, led by their general superior, Sister Evelin Gonzales. All Venezuelan television channels broadcast the service live, and all newspapers featured the beatification on their front pages.
But who was Mother Candelaria and why was the other founder of a religious community included in the list of beatified? After getting to know her life dedicated to God and service to those in need, we will see that her message is a challenge for all who can offer help in today’s world full of poverty. She is proof that even an ordinary person can do something for others with God’s help. Blessed Candelaria also exemplifies the way to approach those in need – with humility, patience, and kindness.
Susana Paz Castillo Ramirez (her civil name) was born on August 11, 1863, in the Venezuelan town of Altagracia de Orituco (in the Guárico state). From her mother’s side, she was a direct relative of Simón Bolívar.1 Her father Francisco de Paula Paz Castillo was a forthright and honest man of great heart, well-respected among people. He was knowledgeable in folk medicine and helped many people this way. Her mother was also a devout, hardworking, and honest woman, and both parents provided their children with as careful an upbringing as possible under their circumstances. With words and their own good example, they led the children to solidarity and responsible living, practically demonstrating Christian attitudes and fundamental human values. Intellectually, they could offer little to their children: Susana learned to read and write. In addition, she learned to sew and embroider. When she was seven years old, her father died. Her mother passed away when Susana was twenty-four, and she became the diligent mistress of the house instead.
God endowed Susana with a charisma for serving the poor and a great compassion for their needs. Although she was not wealthy herself, she did not refuse anyone’s plea for help, giving away from the little she had and earned from sewing. Her activity was supported by the local pastor from collections for the poor, even though he scolded her for being foolish when she gave away resources that were not even enough for herself. If her income and acquired support were insufficient, Susana resorted to begging.
The local area was poor, forgotten, and suffering wilderness with simple agriculture, where the influence of the state (and the associated possible progress) was minimal. Services, trade, transportation, everything was at a miserable level. Moreover, self-proclaimed rulers of various rural areas (caudillos) at the time fought for power among themselves so that, in addition to the poor sick, there were also many wounded who died in the streets, left to fend for themselves. Susana felt called to this situation and tried to serve those who were suffering. During the unrest in 1901, she gathered the wounded from the streets and took them home to care for them. Since there was not enough space, she then gathered the sick and injured who needed help in a half-abandoned house adjacent to the parish church and took care of them there.
In 1903, a new pastor P. Sixtus Sosa Diaz took office in Altagracia.2 He energetically set to work in the field of charity. He created a council that included doctors from the area, himself, and several other collaborators. From here arose the idea to establish the first hospital in Altagracia. He suggested to Susana that she manage the hospital. Susana, along with other girls who helped her care for the sick, moved to the hospital and wished to become nuns. The establishment of the hospital “San Antonio” is considered by the Carmelite Sisters of Mother Candelaria as the moment of the birth of their community: September 13, 1903. From there it then spread further east across Venezuela under the leadership of P. Sixtus and Mother Candelaria. However, her concern was never solely for the sick in the hospital itself. She always went to the sick whom doctors visited at home, and if necessary, took them to one of the hospitals run by her sisters.
On September 13, 1906, with the permission of the diocesan bishop, Susana donned the habit of the Little Sisters of the Poor and took the religious name Candelaria of St. Joseph.3 Another important milestone was December 31, 1910, when the first six sisters made their vows in the hands of Mons. Filip Neri Sendrea, who also confirmed Mother Candelaria as the general superior of this community. In December 1916, Mother Candelaria then made her perpetual vows before the founder of the congregation in Ciudad Bolivar.
Mother considered it very important for the sisters to be poor alongside the poor. To live modestly and not to embarrass the poor by having something extra compared to them. When the sisters needed to obtain their first habits, they begged for the money for them. But before they could have them sewn, Mother gave the money to the indebted hospital. At another time, when there was no room in the hospital for another patient, Mother Candelaria gave her own bed to him. The needs of the poor were her top priority. Her inexhaustible love for those in need was coupled with deep humility.
A great virtue of Blessed Candelaria was kindness and at the same time patience with the sick, who can often be difficult to please or even bear. "Sick poor are the members of Christ,” she said – and acted accordingly. For example, in the hospital on Margaret's Island, doctors refused to treat a patient with an inflamed leg due to his unpleasant nature and aggressive behavior. Mother took care of him personally until he recovered, despite his constant insults. When on the same island she came into contact with girls who were engaged in prostitution, she treated them as kindly as her beloved poor and tried to lead them to a change of life. She understood the pains and despair of simple people well and could remain patient even when they succumbed to impatience and ingratitude.
Another prominent feature of Mother Candelaria was her joyfulness. She served others with joy and a smile, and required the same from her sisters. In times of trouble, she encouraged herself and others with the frequent exclamation: “Lift up your hearts!” She remained humble even though people loved her very much and considered her a saint. If she needed to reprimand someone, she always did it gently and privately. To those who wronged her, she patiently forgave and prayed for them.
As the general superior, Mother Candelaria had to defend against the attempts of the sisters to place her on a pedestal as the founder and prevent her from working at the bedside. Regardless of her position, the superior continued to carry out the most ordinary services in hospitals – carrying basins, washing the sick, and serving night shifts. She covered many kilometers gathering resources for maintaining her work. And she established new communities wherever there was a need at that time.
Mother Candelaria led the congregation as superior for thirty-four years, until the general chapter in 1937. The congregation existed for twenty-two years as an independent community of the Little Sisters of the Poor from Altagracia, and from 1925 it was incorporated into the Carmelite family as a congregation of Carmelite Third Order living a religious life.
The bishop in Calabozo was unsure whether the young congregation could operate as an independent religious institute and gain the necessary canonical approval, which is why the community sought to be affiliated with a more experienced religious family. Achieving this was not easy, especially because the sisters primarily acquired resources for themselves and their poor mostly through begging; none of the hospitals they ran were reliably financially secured. Thus, their young community was in constant financial distress (and this would fall on whoever would affiliate them). In 1922, fathers of the Carmelite order came to Margaret's Island, where the sisters were also working, and at Mother Candelaria's request, they participated in the religious education and spiritual accompaniment of the sisters. This strengthened the sisters' desire to be Carmelites. Father Eliáš Sandre began negotiating with the general prior of the order, and on March 25, 1925, a decree was issued approving the affiliation.
We may have already gotten used to the fact that most Carmelite saints are mystics and masters of prayer. However, Mother Candelaria’s spiritual life was very ordinary and simple. She led an active life filled with work and often had difficulties with prayer and concentration. From a letter to her confessor, we learn that it was not easy for her to set aside a multitude of worries and think only of God. She loved to pray the basic Christian prayers, especially Gloria Patri and Ave Maria. She fought temptation as is customary in South America – spreading her arms in the shape of a cross. Her prayer might have been simple, yet it was carried by great trust in God. She would say: “If the Lord does not help us, it means it is not good for us. Let us trust that He, who knows all our days, will not withhold any grace we request of Him.” She accomplished her many and meager works with love and boundless trust in divine providence. She loved the Crucified Jesus very much and also the Virgin Mary.
The last years of Mother Candelaria’s life were marked by the suffering of illness. She was fully aware of her health condition, bore the pains with incredible patience, and completely identified with God’s will. She prayed to be able to die with the name of Jesus on her lips, and so it happened. On January 31, 1940, early in the morning, she vomited blood, then managed to say the name of Jesus three times and surrendered her soul to the Creator. She died in Caracas.
Today, her congregation has twelve convents in Venezuela and two in Bolivia. In 1969, the process of her beatification began, and a year ago a miracle attributed to her intercession was officially recognized, allowing her to be included in the list of the beatified this year.
This ordinary woman of extraordinary love for God and people had a clear realistic view of life. She tells us: “We are not here in the world to rest. I do not lack suffering and various works. The Lord sends them to me in His love to purify me in this life. Moreover, He loves me so much that He desires me to be close to Him forever. Let us praise the goodness of such a kind Father!”
