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· 04 Jun 2021

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Jose Gregorio Hernandez

#spirituality
He is known as “the doctor of the poor” and for decades his followers in Venezuela and Latin America looked forward to his beatification, which finally took place this Friday, April 30.

For this reason I want to share a short biography of a Venezuelan devotee who thanks to his goodness and humility full of spirituality to many Venezuelans and foreigners who follow him for his many miracles

José Gregorio, as his many devotees know him affectionately, according to his biographers, stood out for his contributions to the development of modern medicine in Venezuela, the generosity with which he served low-income patients and his religious faith.

Born in the small town of Isnotú, Trujillo State, in central western Venezuela, in 1864, he soon stood out in studies and was sent to Caracas, where he graduated in medicine with excellent qualifications from the Central University (UCV).

After completing his studies, he preferred to return to his hometown to care for his patients there.. Rural doctors like him had to deal with diseases such as tuberculosis or malaria in late nineteenth and early twentieth in Venezuela, widespread among the population..
Hernández won a scholarship to complete his studies in Paris, then at the forefront of medical science. There he knew progress that would lead to his country.

According to Jesuit Father Arturo Sosa, “José Gregorio Hernández integrates an excellent scientific training into his spiritual experience that leads him to put him at the service of those who need it, with a special predilection for those who cannot repay it.”.

Dr. Hernández stood out as a teacher and researcher, but what made him gain fame among the popular sectors was his work in the consultation, as he cared for the poor for free.

He is attributed to having introduced the microscope and laying the foundations of bacteriology and other scientific fields until then barely developed in Venezuela.

Dr. Hernández was also a fervent Catholic and twice tried to ordain himself a priest. In 1908 he was admitted to the monastery of Cartuja de Farneta in Tuscany, Italy, but within a few months he showed symptoms of a respiratory disease that advised his return to Caracas.

A second attempt at a Roman seminary in 1913 ended in the same way.

Already based in Venezuela, he developed extensive clinical and research work, and even completed a treatise on philosophy.

On June 29, 1919, he was hit on a central street in Caracas by one of the few cars that circulated in Venezuela at that time.

The doctor died, the myth was born, and the cult of his figure comes to the present day.