Citing accommodation challenges for the 80,000 people who requested to attend, the Catholic Church in Venezuela has canceled an Oct. 25 Mass at a Caracas baseball stadium to honor the newly canonized Venezuelan saints.
However, some reports are saying that the cancellation stemmed from fear of the event becoming politicized, according to an Oct. 22 report from El Estímulo.
The planning for the Mass celebrating Saints José Gregorio Hernández and Carmen Rendiles had taken months, and reports have arisen that the government overseen by President Nicolás Maduro requested to reserve 12,000 seats in Caracas’ Monumental Stadium, where the Mass was going to be held, the outlet reported. Zenit reported that multiple sources close to the archdiocese said government organizers “allegedly planned to fill the stadium with party loyalists bussed in from around the country, turning the liturgy into a political spectacle of support for the president.”
According to El Estímulo, the stadium can hold 48,000 people. The requested seats reportedly included spots in central areas where religious, journalists, and priests were originally going to be seated.
“Faced with growing concerns over potential politicization of the event, the Venezuelan Church reportedly decided to cancel it altogether,” El Estímulo reported.
However, the event organizers did not cite this as the reason for canceling. Rather, they said the registration requests exceeded 80,000 people, far past how many the venue could host, so changes to how to celebrate the new saints needed to be made.
“This outpouring of faith fills us with gratitude and joy, but it also calls for pastoral responsibility,” they said, according to El Estímulo. “As a Church, we must ensure the safety, well-being, and full participation of all — especially children, youth, and those with limited mobility. That is only possible if we adapt the celebration to the real conditions of space, services, and logistics required for an event of this scale.
“After a rigorous technical and pastoral analysis of all possible venues, we have concluded that it is not feasible to hold the celebration at the Monumental Stadium under the necessary conditions of safety and capacity. Therefore, wishing to safeguard life and promote broad participation, we have made a deeply pastoral decision[.]”
In place of the one Mass, the event organizers said that every parish in Greater Caracas will celebrate the canonization, and parishes around the country are invited to participate.
“In this way, joy will multiply: many altars and communities will come together in one act of thanksgiving,” they concluded. “More Venezuelans will be able to take part — and the feast will be close to home! We sincerely thank the Venezuelan people for their overflowing devotion. Let us continue our journey toward holiness and celebrate, united as one Church, this event that blesses our history and our faith.”
Pope Leo canonized the two Venezuelan Blesseds with five others Oct. 19.
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