Drawing from a passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah, “our light shall break forth like the dawn,” the Venezuelan bishops addressed the People of God at the end of their 125th Ordinary Plenary Assembly.
In a pastoral exhortation released on February 9, 2026, by the Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference, the Bishops conveyed a message of hope, while highlighting that “the events of January 3 of this year have profoundly changed the political and social landscape.”
In the face of the concerns and fears generated by the social, political, and economic situation of their country, the bishops allowed themselves to be illuminated by the Gospel that recounts Christ in the boat with His disciples calming the storm. It “invites us,” they write, “to announce that Jesus is always with His people. He is the God-with-us, the Emanuel.”
The bishops base their reflections on Pope Leo XIV’s words after his Angelus prayer on Sunday, January 4.
“The good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration. This must lead to the overcoming of violence, and to the pursuit of paths of justice and peace, guaranteeing the sovereignty of the country,” he had said.
Building on the Pope’s remarks, the bishops list the complex situation that the population is facing , such as the lack of opportunities for fairly paid work, “widespread and unpunished corruption, violations of human and civil rights, including freedom of expression and the right to due process and defense.”
