Jose Gregorio Hernandez, a physician revered for his selfless service during the Spanish flu pandemic, has been canonized by Pope Francis, making him Venezuela’s first saint.
Born in 1864, Hernandez studied in Paris, Berlin, Madrid, and New York before returning to Venezuela to serve the poor. He died in 1919 after being struck by a car in Caracas.
His path to sainthood advanced in 2021, when he was beatified after the miraculous recovery of a 10-year-old girl who survived a gunshot wound to the head after her mother prayed to him.
Pope Francis, currently recovering from double pneumonia, approved Hernandez’s canonization from his hospital bed in Rome. A special mass will be held to formalize the declaration.