February 25 was a historic day for Venezuela and for the universal Church. On the eleventh day of his admission to the Gemelli Polyclinic for his bilateral pneumonia, Pope Francis endorsed the decision of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, and decided to convene a consistory in the near future to set the date of his death. canonization Venezuelan physician José Gregorio Hernández. The first saint of Venezuela is at the doorstep.
This is "a historic event, long awaited by the Venezuelan people, it is a recognition of the exemplary life and heroic virtues of a man who dedicated his life to alleviate human suffering and to transmit a message of love and hope", immediately pointed out the Archdiocese of Caracas in the person of its Archbishop, Monsignor Raúl Biord Castillo, as reported by the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CVE).CEV).
"Júbilo in Venezuela"
The news was immediately picked up by ecclesiastical media, such as the Center for Communication of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM), which specified the timing of the green light. According to the communiqué, "on February 24, 2025, during an audience with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, and Msgr. Edgar Pena Parra, substitute for General Affairs, the Holy Father authorized the promulgation of several decrees, among them including the one related to the canonization of José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros".
Other platforms spoke directly of "jubilation" in Venezuela, as headlined by the agency EfeVenezuela celebrates with jubilation in streets, churches and social networks the approved canonization of Blessed José Gregorio Hernández, known as the 'Doctor of the Poor', a 'long awaited' announcement, according to the national Catholic Church, which arrived on February 25, 2025, a date that is already considered historic".
"Dozens of devotees," the agency continued, "went around noon to the Candelaria church in Caracas, where his remains rest, on whose facade there were images of the doctor with messages such as "let us pray to the Lord so that José Gregorio will be a saint now", and where Venezuelan folk music was heard."
"President Maduro's commitment"
Others media reported the echo of the news in the mayor of Caracas, and in the government of the nation. For example: "During the transmission of the radio program 'Sin Truco ni Maña', the mayor of Caracas, Carmen Meléndez, expressed her joy after the announcement of the canonization of Doctor José Gregorio Hernández and what he represents for the Venezuelan people".
"The canonization of José Gregorio Hernández was a clamor of the people," he said. "For the people of Venezuela José Gregorio is a saint, the people's saint, everyone has his experience, his anecdote with Dr. José Gregorio (...), Venezuelans are proud to have a saint, the first saint and that he is José Gregorio Hernández" he asserted. Meléndez highlighted the commitment of President Nicolás Maduro to achieve this cause, with the sending of more than 10 letters to Pope Francis to address the issue".
Corina Machado's "Deep Joy".
The opposition leader María Corina Machado, on her part, has on the social network X a message from a few days ago, in which she expresses her joy for the definitive canonization of José Gregorio Hernández. The text is as follows: "Today is a day of deep joy for all Venezuelans for the definitive canonization of José Gregorio Hernández, who is already our first saint in history".
"This good news renews our hopes for a better future for Venezuela," the message continues, "and reminds us of the enormous power of faith. My first prayers to our Venezuelan saint José Gregorio Hernández are to ask for the release of these brave brothers who today are imprisoned for seeking our freedom. Let us pray together and ask him to give us the serenity and strength necessary to achieve the liberation of Venezuela and the reunification of our families here".
Archbishop of Caracas: "it is a reason for hope".
"I believe that the canonization of José Gregorio Hernández is a great gift for the whole Church, the universal Church. He is a saint whose devotion is not only restricted to the place where he was born, but that all Venezuela and all America is celebrating", said in Vatican media Monsignor Raúl Biord Castillo, Archbishop of Caracas.
"I was called yesterday by several bishops, several people from different parts of America, from North, Central and South America, also from Europe and other continents, where they venerate José Gregorio Hernández, that person who is like the tenderness of God, who intercedes for the healing of so many people. He is a reason for hope for us at Venezuela", he added.
Universal model
Blessed José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros "is a man of universal service", as Pope Francis defined him in a video message addressed to the Venezuelan people in 2021 on the occasion of his beatification.
"Pope Francis has taken a great affection for José Gregorio and in some way has proposed him as a universal model, has recognized his universal devotion, which has spread in many places," said Monsignor Biord Castillo, while asking "God to restore the health of our beloved Pope Francis so that he may continue to encourage the Church with his word and his example."
In addition to St. John Paul II, who declared him venerable in 1986, the process has had the dedication of people such as Cardinals Baltazar Porras and Jorge Urosa, and postulators and vice-postulators such as Dr. Silvia Correale, Father Gerardino Barracchini, Bishop Tulio Ramirez Padilla and Bishop Fernando Jose Castro Aguayo, among others, have actively participated in the process.
