Maduro decrees non-working days of jubilation on October 19 and 20 for canonizations

Caracas.- The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, decreed this Friday as non-working days of jubilation the next October 19 and 20 for the canonization of the doctor José Gregorio Hernández and the religious Carmen Rendiles so that all the people go out to celebrate this "historic event".

"I would like to proceed here, in this urban development, to sign the decree with which I declare throughout the national territory on Sunday, October 19, the day of the canonization of Doctor José Gregorio Hernández and Mother Carmen Rendiles, Sunday 19 and Monday 20, a non-working day of jubilation", indicated the president at the inauguration of the 'City of Entrepreneurship', broadcast by the state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).

You may be interested in: http://Demandan al Gobierno de Trump por "vigilancia ideológica" de redes sociales de inmigrantes

Maduro pointed out that the objective is for citizens to go out and celebrate "in a single prayer" this historic event of the Catholic Church. "I say from the heart, thank you Pope Francis, I will raise a prayer with the people for you when they are giving the title of saint to who has been our saint for more than 70 years, doctor José Gregorio Hernández," he added. The ceremony in Rome, which Pope Leo XIV will officiate this coming Sunday, will be followed by a Venezuela that is going through a prolonged political crisis and a "military threat" from the US, as denounced by the Maduro government, referring to the naval deployment of the North American nation in the Caribbean Sea. The prompt canonization of Hernández and Rendiles has been considered by non-governmental organizations, opponents, human rights activists, and the Venezuelan Catholic Church itself as an opportunity to demand the release of political prisoners, a call led, mainly, by relatives of these detainees.

On October 7th, the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV) stated that the canonization represents "a favorable occasion for the State authorities to issue measures of grace that allow the incarcerated for political reasons to regain their freedom".

According to the Venezuelan Church, this measure would favor the tranquility and harmony of family members and loved ones, as well as of "the entire society." According to the NGO Foro Penal, there are 845 political prisoners in Venezuela. The Executive and the Prosecutor's Office deny that there are people detained in the country for political reasons, but rather - they claim - they committed crimes, a statement that NGOs and opponents reject.