Candelaria of San José

In 1903, Susana took charge of the San Antonio Hospital, created by the municipality of Altagracia de Orituco to address the health crisis. Supported by local doctors and Father Sixto Sosa, she cared for the poorest patients there and begged from door to door to provide for the needs of the establishment. On September 13, 1906, she and her companions donned the religious habit, and she chose the name Candelaria de San José. On December 31, 1910, the community officially became the Congregation of the Hermanitas de los Pobres de Altagracia de Orituco. Mother Candelaria pronounced her perpetual vows in December 1916. Under her leadership, the congregation founded several hospitals across the country. In 1922, the institute was affiliated with the Order of Carmel under the name of Carmelite Sisters of the Third Regular Order. She stepped down from her position as Superior General in April 1937 and passed away on January 31, 1940, in Cumaná.

The cause for the beatification of Mother Candelaria of San José was officially introduced on October 1, 1974. On April 19, 2004, Pope John Paul II signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues, thereby proclaiming her Venerable. On July 6, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI approved the decree recognizing a miracle attributed to her intercession. This miracle concerns the healing and miraculous birth of a baby girl in August 1995, after her mother, who was suffering from a high-risk pregnancy with pre-eclampsia and whose fetus had been declared dead in utero, prayed fervently to Mother Candelaria.

The beatification ceremony of Mother Candelaria of San José was celebrated on April 27, 2008, at the baseball stadium of the Central University of Venezuela, in Caracas. The solemn mass was presided over by Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, acting as legate of Pope Benedict XVI. She thus became the second blessed in the history of Venezuela. Her liturgical memorial is set for February 1st or January 31st. The process for her canonization is currently underway, with the study of a second potential miracle.

The spirituality of Blessed Candelaria of San José rests on an absolute trust in Divine Providence, a profound humility, and a boundless love for the suffering Christ through the sick and the excluded. Her motto was 'God is Love'. She also nurtured a tender devotion to Jesus Crucified and the Virgin Mary. Her legacy continues today through the Carmelite Sisters of Mother Candelaria, who carry on her charitable and educational work in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Brazil.