Blessed Candlemas of San José
Venezuelan foundress and blessed (1863-1940)
Feast: 31 January (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Susana Paz Castillo Ramírez was born on 11 August 1863 at Altagracia de Orituco, Guárico, Venezuela. Her father died when she was seven and the family gradually lost everything; she had only the most basic schooling.
As Mother Candelaria of St Joseph she founded the Carmelite Sisters Tertiaries Regular in Venezuela. In her, love of God was bound closely to love of neighbour.
The miracles
The Dicastery's biography does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A poor girl with little schooling in whom love of God and love of neighbour were one.
The cause
The cause continues. No postulation address is published here yet. Favours received through this person’s intercession, and offers of help, are best sent to the religious order or congregation they belonged to, or to the diocese where the cause was opened; either will pass them to the postulation.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Candelaria de San José Paz Castillo Ramírez
- Wikidata Q2468412 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Candelaria of Saint Joseph (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.