Saint Maria Carmen Rendiles – Venezuelan Founder & First Female Saint of Venezuela

ST. Maria Carmen Rendiles

Maria Carmen Rendiles was a Venezuelan religious sister who, despite being born without a left arm, founded the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus in Venezuela and gave her life to educating, serving the poor and the sick, and forming communities of faith.

Maria del Monte Carmelo Rendiles Martínez was born on 11 August 1903 in Caracas, Venezuela, into a devout Catholic family. At birth she lacked her left arm and used a prosthesis, a physical limitation that at first hindered her admission into several religious communities. From her early years she showed devotion to prayer, the Rosary, and the Eucharist; she made her First Communion in 1911 and felt a calling to religious life while still young.

In February 1927 she entered the French‑origin congregation of the Servants of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, taking the religious name Maria Carmen, and went to Toulouse, France for her novitiate. She made her first vows on 8 September 1929 and her perpetual vows on 8 September 1932 Over the decades she served in leadership, including as novice mistress and provincial superior, guiding the sisters in Venezuela and founding educational institutions such as the Colegio Belén in Caracas.

In 1965, with papal approval, she founded a new religious institute, the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus, becoming its first Superior General. Her congregation grew, established schools, formed sisters and served the poor, sick, and marginalized in Venezuela and beyond. She accepted her own suffering with humility: after a car accident in 1974 she was bound to a wheelchair but continued to encourage her sisters and remain spiritually active.

She died on 9 May 1977 in Caracas. Her cause for sainthood progressed: she was declared Venerable in 2013, beatified on 16 June 2018 in Caracas by Cardinal Amato acting for Pope Francis. On 28 March 2025 Pope Francis authorised the decree of a miracle attributed to her intercession, and she was canonised on 19 October 2025 in St. Peter’s Square by Pope Leo XIV. Her canonisation marks the first female saint of Venezuela, a historic milestone for the Venezuelan Church.

Feast Day

9-5-

Birth Date

11-8-1903

Died Date

9-5-1977

Canonised Date

19-10-2025

Caracas, Venezuela

O Lord Jesus Christ, help me to serve with love as Saint Maria Carmen Rendiles did, in humble charity for the poor and for Your glory.”
ST. Maria Carmen Rendiles

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ST. Maria Carmen Rendiles

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Anudina Visudhar (Malayalam) – Life of Saints for Everyday
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Saint Companions for Each Day
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