{"id":487384,"date":"2025-10-19T19:07:29","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T23:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/uncategorized\/pope-leo-xiv-canonizes-the-doctor-of-the-poor-jose-gregorio-hernandez-first-saint-of-venezuela\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T19:11:32","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T23:11:32","slug":"pope-leo-xiv-canonizes-the-doctor-of-the-poor-jose-gregorio-hernandez-venezuelas-first-saint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/uncategorized\/pope-leo-xiv-canonizes-the-doctor-of-the-poor-jose-gregorio-hernandez-venezuelas-first-saint\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo XIV canonizes the “doctor of the poor”, Jos\u00e9 Gregorio Hern\u00e1ndez, Venezuela’s first saint"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Vatican<\/strong>.\u2013 In a historic ceremony held this Sunday in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV<\/a> canonized the Venezuelan Jos\u00e9 Gregorio Hern\u00e1ndez, known as the \u201cdoctor of the poor\u201d, giving Venezuela its first saint and a reason for hope amid the prolonged economic and social crisis the country is going through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before a crowd of approximately 70,000 people, Leo XIV proclaimed Hern\u00e1ndez a saint, along with Mother Carmen Rendiles Mart\u00ednez, founder of a Venezuelan religious order, and five other blesseds, including the layperson Peter To Rot of Papua New Guinea, murdered in 1945 for defending monogamous marriage.<\/p>\n\n\nThe mass, described by the pontiff as a “great celebration of holiness,” turned the Vatican square into a mosaic of Venezuelan flags and shared emotions. Thousands of pilgrims waved the red, blue, and yellow colors, which mixed with the uniforms of the Swiss guards, in an atmosphere of jubilation and spiritual fervor.\n\nJos\u00e9 Gregorio Hern\u00e1ndez, born in 1864 in Isnot\u00fa, Trujillo, was a doctor, scientist, and philanthropist who dedicated his life to providing free care to the most needy. His deep faith and vocation for service made him, over more than a century, a symbol of solidarity, humility, and Christian devotion for millions of Venezuelans.\n\n\n

You can also read: Venezuela thanks Pope Leo XIV for having canonized its first two saints<\/a><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\nThe Vatican recalled that Pope Francis, from his hospital last February, approved the canonization of Hern\u00e1ndez without requiring the formal process of confirmation of miracles, citing the “widespread veneration of the doctor-saint among the faithful.” This decision was considered an exceptional gesture and recognition of the popular faith of the Venezuelan people.\n\nCelebration in Venezuela\n\n\n

While the canonization mass was taking place in Rome, thousands of Venezuelans gathered in Caracas, in front of the church Nuestra Se\u00f1ora de La Candelaria, where an eight-meter statue of the new saint rests. There, the faithful followed the ceremony through a giant screen, amidst prayers, songs, and tears of emotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro publicly thanked Pope Francis for his role in the canonization, noting that the gesture represents “a blessing for the Venezuelan people” and asked to pray “for the new saint and for Pope Francis.”<\/p>\n\n\nA legacy of faith and hope\n\nWith this canonization, Jos\u00e9 Gregorio Hern\u00e1ndez officially becomes the first Venezuelan saint, a title that confirms his central role in the spirituality of the country. His figure, which transcends creeds and social classes, is seen as a symbol of national unity in times of adversity.\n\n“May the example of Doctor Hernandez inspire Venezuela to heal the wounds of the soul and to rebuild hope from faith and solidarity,” said Pope Leo XIV at the conclusion of the ceremony, which was also one of the last public acts of the pontiff before his retirement.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vatican.\u2013 In a historic ceremony held this Sunday in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV canonized the Venezuelan Jos\u00e9 Gregorio Hern\u00e1ndez, known as the \u201cdoctor of the poor\u201d, giving Venezuela its first saint and a reason for hope amid the prolonged economic and social crisis the country is going through. Before a crowd of approximately […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133543,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-487384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phj1q1-22N2","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","dum_api":{"author_name":"Carolina \u00c1lvarez","author_image":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/cropped-WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-26-at-5.31.57-PM-96x96.jpeg","categories_name":["Uncategorized"],"featured_media_url":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/133543"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487384\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}