Venezuela's 'doctor of the poor' beatified in small ceremony

A man revered by millions of Venezuelans as the “doctor of the poor” is one step away from sainthood

CARACAS, Venezuela -- A man revered by millions of Venezuelans as the “doctor of the poor” is one step away from sainthood after being beatified Friday in the South American country’s capital. Dr. Jose Gregorio Hernández, who died in 1919, was beatified in a simple and emotional ceremony, culminating decades of efforts by Venezuela’s Catholics. Mass celebrations were postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Apostolic Nuncio Aldo Giordano, representing the Vatican, said during the ceremony that Hernández “will be called blessed and celebrated every year.” Fewer than 300 people, almost entirely priests and nuns, attended the event in the small chapel of a Catholic school on the edge of a mountainous national park north of the capital of Caracas. The ritual was carried live on television.