SW News: The celebrated Venezuelan "doctor of the poor," José Gregorio Hernandez will be beatified by the end of April 2021, the Archdiocese of Caracas announced on Twitter last Sunday.

On June 19, 2020, Pope Francis had authorized a decree approving the miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable José Gregorio Hernandez Cisneros. The miracle involved the miraculous healing of a teenage girl who was shot in the head in 2017.

Dr. José Gregorio Hernandez was a famous pathologist, scientist, and teacher. He is especially known for his fearless service during the Spanish flu pandemic. He often treated the poor free of cost, visited their homes, and provided medicines.

Dr. Hernandez was born on October 26, 1864, in the town of Isnotú in Trujillo state, Venezuela. He graduated in medicine from the Central University of Venezuela in 1888. The government of Venezuela awarded him a scholarship to continue his studies in Europe.

He studied bacteriology, pathology, histology, and microbiology in Paris. Returning to Venezuela, he served as one of the head doctors at José Maria Vargas hospital. José Gregorio Hernandez died in a road accident on June 29, 1919.