Venezuela is set to have its first female saint following approval from Pope Francis. On Monday, he paved the way for the canonization of Blessed María Carmen Rendiles by authorising a decree recognising a miracle attributed to her—the founder of the Congregation of the Handmaids of Jesus.

Carmen Rendiles was born on August 11, 1903, in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, and died there on May 9, 1977. Despite the loss of an arm, she joined a French congregation in Venezuela in 1927 and In 1961 she founded an autonomous congregation.