Dr. José Gregorio Hernández became a Blessed of the Catholic Church, after Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree on the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
The so-called Doctor of the Poor will accompany Blessed María de San José (1865-1967), Candelaria de San José (1863-1940) and Carmen Rendiles (1903-1977) on the Venezuelan altars.
“José Gregorio had a strong religious vocation, he understood that God was calling him to secular life thus he became a Franciscan Tertiary, so that, like Saint Francis of Assisi, he recognized the face of Jesus in each sick person”, says an article entitled The doctor of the poor of Venezuela among new blessed, published on the digital portal Vatican News.
In 2013, the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro, personally asked Pope Francis to speed up the beatification of José Gregorio Hernández, a process that began in 1949.
“We were overjoyed when we learned that the process to give the title of saint to Doctor José Gregorio Hernández had already been approved, that same day it was 7 years since my visit to Pope Francis in Rome, in the Vatican, when I started the efforts to boost the sanctification process”, said the Head of State.
In January 2020, the Medical Commission of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints approved the miracle on Yaxury Solórzano, who was hit by a bullet in 2017 and presented an unfavorable medical prognosis.
The young woman’s life was entrusted to the Venerable. Yaxury Solórzano reacted positively to the postoperative examinations and left the hospital with her faculties intact.
In parallel to the beatification of Dr. José Gregorio Hernández, the Holy See recognized the sanctity of the Venerable Servant of God Mamerto Esquiú (Argentina), the Servant of God María Laura Mainetti (Italy) and the Servant of God Gloria María de Jesús Elizondo García ( Mexico).