Cardinal Baltazar Porras of Mérida celebrated Sunday Mass for parishioners at St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church west of Fort Lauderdale. He brought with him the relics of Blessed José Gregorio that were placed for veneration at the front of the church.
Even the Pope Has Prayed to Venezuela s Beloved Doctor of the Poor nytimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nytimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A painting of José Gregorio Hernández is displayed by the main door at the Church of Colegio La Salle in Caracas, Venezuela, April 28, 2021, during preparations for his April 30 beatification. (CNS photo/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria, Reuters)
When Venezuelans get sick it is typical for us to ask José Gregorio Hernández to intercede for us. From our youngest days, we are told about how this good and generous doctor showed special care for the poorest in our society. More than four million people have been forced to emigrate from Venezuela since the socialist-inspired revolution in 1999, escaping the precarious conditions induced by years-long political, economic and social strife. I left in 1994. Dr. Hernández is an integral part of the good I remember of my native land.
BBC News
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image captionJosé Gregorio Hernández is revered in Venezuela as the doctor of the poor
A Venezuelan doctor known for treating the poor during the Spanish flu pandemic a century ago has been beatified, a step toward sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church.
José Gregorio Hernández, who was born in 1864, is revered in the country as the doctor of the poor .
He died at the age of 54 in 1919, after being struck by a car in Caracas.
The beatification comes after the Church attributed a miracle to him for saving the life of a young girl.
Yaxury Solórzano survived after being shot in the head during an attempted robbery in 2017. Doctors said that, if she survived, she would be permanently disabled.