Pope Leo XIV canonised José Gregorio Hernández, the physician known as the “doctor of the poor”, in St Peter’s Square on Sunday before tens of thousands of pilgrims from Latin America and beyond.
The Venezuelan layman, killed in 1919 while bringing medicine to a sick woman, was declared a saint alongside fellow Venezuelan Mother Carmen Rendiles Martínez, founder of the Handmaids of Jesus, marking a historic moment for Venezuela and the wider Church.
The canonisation, Venezuela’s first, was greeted with jubilant scenes in Caracas, where thousands gathered outside Our Lady of La Candelaria Church to watch the Mass on large screens. Across the country, churches held vigils and processions in honour of the nation’s new saints. Many saw the ceremony as a sign of hope amid deep economic hardship, political division and widespread emigration.
