Pope Francis authorizes canonization of Venezuelan saint

Pope Francis continues to work despite his convalescence at the Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital. This time, he approved the canonization of the Venezuelan Blessed José Gregorio Hernández to proclaim him a saint.

In a statement , the Vatican reported that the Supreme Pontiff held an audience from the hospital with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, and Monsignor Edgar Peña Parra, Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State.

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The Pope approved the votes in favor of the Ordinary Session of the Fathers, Cardinals and Bishops , members of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints , making a fact the canonization of Giuseppe Gregorio and of the Italian Blessed, Bartolo Longo , born in 1841 and died in 1926.

Regarding the dates for carrying out these canonizations, the Pope decided to call a consistory to define them.

The Venezuelan people awaited with faith the news of the canonization of Blessed José Gregorio Hernández, whose popularity has grown in recent years , increasing interest and devotion to his figure both in Venezuela and in the rest of Latin America.

José Gregorio was a Venezuelan doctor and philanthropist. He studied medicine in Caracas, but after finishing his degree he returned to his hometown, far from medical services, where he gave free consultations to people with very low resources.

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He obtained a scholarship to complement his studies in France where he acquired new knowledge and procedures that he took to his native Venezuela to modernize the practice of medicine .

Blessed Joseph, known as "the doctor of the poor", died on June 29, 1919 , after being hit by a car, and after his death, a cult arose around him, to pray for the health of the sick.