Jose Gregorio awaits beatification as unifying figure in divided Venezuela
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By Gonzalo Dominguez Loeda
Caracas, Apr 28 (EFE).- “That night I was in bed and I saw him come in (my room).” Approaching the Caracas church where the remains of Dr. Jose Gregorio Hernandez rest in a humble casket, one can hear conversations that begin like this – about the man who will be beatified later this week – and end with the definitive statement that “Dr. Hernandez cured me.”
It’s an experience that unites many Venezuelans more than any flag or banner could.
“He came with a pencil. I remained right there, it was him, he had a pencil that was like a lantern and he began to shine it in my eyes. I knew that it was him … After that, I remained asleep and when the doctors came to see me I was fine and they didn’t do the operation,” Jose Alberto Torrealba told EFE before emphasizing: “It was him.”