Скачать или смотреть Pope signs decree making José Gregorio Hernández, 'doctor of the poor,' Venezuela's first saint

(25 Feb 2025)

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RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Caracas, Venezuela - 25 February 2025
1. Sculpture of Dr. José Gregorio Hernandez inside church
2. Various of Catholic faithful gathered in front of Hernandez sculpture taking pictures and receiving holy water from priest
3. Various of Mirta Hernandez and her sister, Rosario Hernandez, taking pictures with José Gregorio Hernandez sculpture outside of church
4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Mirta Hernandez, 64, Venezuelan housekeeper and devotee:
"When they said that the Pope signed the canonization of Dr. José Gregorio Hernández, that we now have our first saint, tears came to my eyes immediately. I didn't believe it at first and I said, 'God, you are great.' He deserved it. Dr. Jose Gregorio deserves it, and has deserved it for many years: Our first Venezuelan saint."
5. José Gregorio Hernandez sculpture outside of church
6. Wide of church
7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Krismar Hernandez, 36, devotee:
"I say that I have his doctor's coat ripped from hanging onto it so much. Every day in the hospital you see pictures of Jose Gregorio Hernandez in every corner. We always pray and ask much from him for her health."
8. Various of Krismar Hernandez and her youngest daughter, María Jose, praying behind candles
9. Hernandez and her daughter praying before Jose Gregorio Hernandez shrine
STORYLINE:
A man revered by millions as the “doctor of the poor” will be the first saint from Venezuela after Pope Francis approved a decree Tuesday.

A date for the canonization of Dr. José Gregorio Hernández, who died in 1919, has not been set.

The Vatican in a statement said Francis also decided to convene a formal meeting of cardinals to set the dates for future canonizations, but it was not immediately scheduled.

To celebrate the news, hundreds rushed in to the church that holds Jose Gregorio Hernandez' remains in downtown Caracas.

The church was packed with banners and sculptures of one of Venezuela's most worshipped figures.

Taking pictures with a sculpture revealed in 2021 when Hernandez was beatified, sisters Mirta and Rosario Hernandez seemed happy and eager to go inside the church.

"When I saw (the news from) the Vatican I though it was something else, related to the Pope given he's in such delicate state of health. When they said that the Pope signed the canonization of Dr. José Gregorio Hernández, that we now have our first saint, tears came to my eyes immediately," said Mirta Hernandez outside the church.

“This historic event, long awaited by the Venezuelan people, is a recognition of the exemplary life and heroic virtues of a man who dedicated his existence to alleviating human suffering and transmitting a message of love and hope,” the Archdiocese of Caracas said in a statement.

Krismar Hernandez said she was feeling low after her daughter's chemotherapy appointment was cancelled due to lack of treatment supplies when she learned the news about Jose Gregorio Hernandez and headed to the church.

She and her 10 year-old daughter, Maria Jose –her youngest– who suffers bone cancer, sat together next to the candles to listen to the service.

"I say that I have his doctor's coat ripped from hanging onto it so much. Everyday in the hospital you see pictures of Jose Gregorio Hernandez in every corner. We always pray and ask much from him for her health," she said.

Hernández was beatified in 2021 after the church certified a miracle in the case of a girl who completely recovered after being shot in the head in 2017.





AP video by Juan Arraez



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