A person revered by tens of millions as the “doctor of the poor” will likely be the first saint from Venezuela after Pope Francis accredited a decree Tuesday (February 25, 2025).
A date for the canonisation of Dr. José Gregorio Hernández, who died in 1919, has not been set. The Vatican in a press release stated Pope Francis additionally determined to convene a proper assembly of cardinals to set the dates for future canonisations, but it surely was not instantly scheduled.
“This historic event, long awaited by the Venezuelan people, is a recognition of the exemplary life and heroic virtues of a man who dedicated his existence to alleviating human suffering and transmitting a message of love and hope,” the Archdiocese of Caracas stated in a press release.
“The Catholic Church recognises his life of holiness, accompanied by a universal devotion, which today allows him to be elevated to the altar.”
Hernández was beatified in April 2021 after the church licensed a miracle in the case of a lady who fully recovered after being shot in the head in 2017.
Hernández, born on Oct 26, 1864, in the western Venezuela city of Isnotu, by no means married and graduated as a health care provider in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, in 1888. He was satisfied that science was one of the important methods to get the South American nation out of distress and went on to determine two analysis establishments in addition to train a number of courses at the Central University of Venezuela, the nation’s oldest and largest.
He travelled to Europe to check after which to change into a Catholic monk, however his fragile well being was affected by Italy’s chilly and humid climate. He returned to Venezuela to get well and stayed completely.
On June 29, 1919, Hernández was hit by a automotive whereas crossing a avenue shortly after choosing up drugs at a pharmacy to take to an impoverished lady. His dying was induced when his head hit the edge of a sidewalk. An estimated 20,000 individuals participated in his funeral procession, a couple of quarter of the inhabitants of Caracas at the time.
In 1986, the Vatican declared Hernández “venerable,” which implies that he led an exemplary Christian life. But to realize sanctity, groups of medical doctors, theologians and cardinals should approve miracles attributed to him.
When Pope John Paul II, now a saint, visited Venezuela in 1996, he obtained a petition signed by 5 million individuals — at the time, virtually one in 4 Venezuelans — asking him to declare Hernández a saint.
Published – February 26, 2025 01:00 am IST
